The APF Video Project

Rein

On the first day of December, I drove from my humble abode in Woburn to Cape Cod to interview our next spine patient. I’ve been talking to Rein for several years on the phone, so it was fun to finally meet him at his house. He and his wife were fantastic hosts — he spoiled us with home made pizza (on the stone, dough from scratch…you get the idea) and later, ginger-infused ice cream. Jeez, if you’re ever in Cape Cod and hungry, you gotta stop here! Just call for reservations first. ; )

But after all the yummie delights, it was time to get ready for the interview. I’ve always enjoyed talking to Rein, as he is eloquent and knowledgeable in a wide variety of topics - especially artificial disc replacement. In particular, he has some passionate opinions about the Active L and staying fit to mitigate pain. It was especially interesting for me to hear his take on the biomechanics of ADR, as he is a skilled sail maker and has worked with his hands all his life. After the interview, he demonstrated some of the exercises he performs daily to stay fit and relatively pain-free. Though his L5-S1 is “toast,” his inversion “machine” has kept him away from surgery for several years. On these days where his physical work load with sail making/repairing/cleaning is intensive, his ibuprofen torpedoes take the edge off the burning back pain.

In this project, Rein is the only patient that is pre-surgical. He’s not yet decided when or where he will be having surgery, but he’ll be sure to let us know what he decides. In the meantime, he’ll be managing his day-to-day pain with his special mechanical friend. Here he is defying gravity…with a thumbs up…or is it a thumbs down!?