Paying for my surgery

[treefrog]

Thankfully I did get an email from ProSpine, the estimate of surgery is just that, so they will just add the Euro 30 to the final bill from which they subtract the deposit I have made through wire transfers.

I just hope the estimate is pretty accurate. From what other people have said, it seems like it is. I haven't heard many people say they had huge bills to pay, after pre-paying the estimate they received.

[Justin]

Thankfully I did get an email from ProSpine, the estimate of surgery is just that, so they will just add the Euro 30 to the final bill from which they subtract the deposit I have made through wire transfers.

I just hope the estimate is pretty accurate. From what other people have said, it seems like it is. I haven't heard many people say they had huge bills to pay, after pre-paying the estimate they received.

Good news Cathy. For my 2-level ADR in 2003, I actually received a refund of 200 euros after everything was said and done--this was even with Dr. Bertagnoli spending 1.5-2 extra hours removing scar tissue from my first spine surgery.

My DSS surgery required some extra time on issues that were not present on x-ray or on my CT/myelogram. My operation ended up taking 4 hours (was only supposed to take 2.5 hrs) and the issues that needed to be addressed added roughly 2100 euros (~$3k USD). This is not bad considering the extent and difficulty of my surgery--if Dr. B said it was $100k more, it still would have been a "deal."

ProSpine is really good concerning their estimates. You're day is almost here!

[treefrog]

Yes, almost here. We fly out tomorrow, and surgery is 6 days away. I'm just hoping I won't forget to pack anything, and that my cats do okay while we are gone. We have friends who will stop in and check on them, but they don't do well when we are away for extended periods.

I will probably start a surgery thread (in the surgical outcomes) tomorrow, so I can give my family the link, so they can follow my progress.

[Justin]

Yes, almost here. We fly out tomorrow, and surgery is 6 days away. I'm just hoping I won't forget to pack anything, and that my cats do okay while we are gone. We have friends who will stop in and check on them, but they don't do well when we are away for extended periods.

I will probably start a surgery thread (in the surgical outcomes) tomorrow, so I can give my family the link, so they can follow my progress.

Our cats are the same way...funny little animals. 6 days will be here before you know it!

It sounds like you are the best packed person to ever fly to Germany for surgery.

Great idea about the progress thread...if you, your boyfriend or your family need any help with uploading images, registering, etc. I'm here to help in any way possible so that they can stay in contact with you.

Let me know if you need anything before your flight tomorrow too...

[chasswen]

that's odd with xe transfers. when i used xe i sent them us dollars to buy euros then they wired euros to dr b bank and fees were only 15 bucks. total
any way good luck with your upcoming surgery you are in the best hands in the world so no worries.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!
chuck

[treefrog]

Yes, it is strange. I noted the wire fee, and that was added on top of the transaction...for instance the first transaction I did I just got as many Euros as I could for $20K USD (as that was the amount I had, and I had to send them something)... so I expected however many Euros to go by wire transfer to the bank for Dr. B.

The amount I had to send xe was 20,020.95 (20.95 wire fee for xe). So I was surprised when the amount of Euros was 15 less (and actually I didn't catch it until the second time around, which then made it 30). This was not a fee from xe, but a fee from the receiving bank.

I mean everything is working out, but it would have been a lot less stressful for me, if I had known about the fees before I sent the payment. Then I could have made sure there was enough extra to account for it.