The APF Video Project

Video Project with Spine Patients Commenced

This new blog will track the progress of a new project: a high-quality video that focuses exclusively on spine patients. This site will be updated frequently, and you’ll be able to read the candid remarks from the entire cast of characters involved in its production. As a spine patient, I received the Charite’ artificial disc at L5-S1 in 2004 and have done exceptionally well. I recovered quickly and now lead an active lifestyle: hiking, bikinq, squash and have zilcho pain (thank God! Here I am after a 10-mile bike ride). However, the research gathering process for spine patients is daunting, even in this Internet era; so this video will capture and distill the wisdom of patients from all walks of life.

Spine surgery is still far from perfect, as we’ve seen many patients still suffer from pain syndromes after surgery…even when they go to “top” doctors. So I hope this video will ultimately serve the many needs of spine patients before they opt for artificial disc replacement - or any other spine surgery.

After talking about this project on the adrsupport.org discussion board for many years, we finally started the patient interviews in October. The process started with my trip to Brooklyn, New York, where I met my old colleague, Moki, who helped me launch ADRSupport.org three years ago. Moki is now a film-maker extraordinaire and is the technical brains behind the entire film process. My role will be to travel to the patients and interview them with some mighty portable, yet powerful camera equipment.

More about the interviews later…and here’s a picture of “New York Moki.”