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My spinal surgery in South Korea

In a South Korean hospital bed recovering from a spinal fusion surgery that just got expensive.

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My spinal surgery in South Korea

My spinal surgery in South Korea

My spinal surgery in South Korea

My spinal surgery in South Korea

My spinal surgery in South Korea

In a South Korean hospital bed recovering from a spinal fusion surgery that just got expensive.

In a South Korean hospital bed recovering from a spinal fusion surgery that just got expensive.

In a South Korean hospital bed recovering from a spinal fusion surgery that just got expensive.

In a South Korean hospital bed recovering from a spinal fusion surgery that just got expensive.

Dale Ebsary
Dale Ebsary
Dale Ebsary
Dale Ebsary
1 Campaign |
Seoul, Korea, Republic of
$9,091 USD 98 backers
90% of $10,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

My long, sorry story:

I have always been very fit and active. I have even done some body modeling for video game characters...but at the moment my next goal is to just feel my toes again.

 I am living and working alone in South Korea. I teach at a small school.

Years ago, I was cut off on my motorcycle and run into a bus. I woke up in a scummy little local hospital... immobile. Since I was a foreigner unconscious in the street, the blame for the accident was placed on me. Conveniently, none of the cctv cameras or dashcams involved had a view of the situation and because of a language issue with my bike insurance company (yes, I was completely legal until that time) my insurance was not renewed properly and I was left on my own to pay for my hospital bills, my destroyed bike, and the damage to the bus. The hospital took the opportunity to make as much money as they could from me despite my insurance situation (3 CT scans... then they said I was stable...when I mentioned I seemed to have burst my eardrum, instead of looking in my ear, they forced me into yet another CT scan~ that hospital's most expensive service).

they never did diagnose my eardrum; I had that done at another hospital later.

As soon as I could move, I paid my huge bill and went home to heal in bed where there would be no bills.

Fast forward a few years and I had worked hard to heal and get fit and muscular again. I tweaked my back at work when my chair caught a lip in the floor and I kind of stumbled backward (embarrassing in front of students). Very soon, I began to lose movement in my left leg and had a lot of tightness and pain.

I was diagnosed with a severe herniated disc and given emergency surgery. Because it happened at work, I was given a small amount of insurance (about 20%) coverage. The hospital also gave me a discount and the surgery only cost me a few grand out of pocket.

Regardless, between these 2 incidents, my savings had basically disappeared.

Again, I got myself back into shape, but never quite kicked the pain.

The other day, I sneezed in the shower and immediately lost the use of my left leg. The pain was horrible. Again... a pretty embarrassing way to paralyse yourself.

I went back to the same spinal hospital and the doc said I needed a fusion surgery. If I wanted to walk, it was urgent.

Now I am in a hospital bed in South Korea in agony. It's the third day after my fusion surgery and I still can't feel my left leg. They are expecting, however, that I will recover fully.

I contacted the insurance company that offered the coverage last time, and they informed me that my school has renegotiated its insurance contract and they will not cover the relapse treatment on an --according to the new contract-- pre-existing condition. Of course, at the time of my last treatment, I was assured I would be taken care of indefinitely.

So, here I am... in a bit of a situation.

This surgery is costing me just under 10 thousand dollars... that I can't really afford. And I am at risk of losing my job if I can't get back to work very soon. It seems the office girl thinks I should only miss one day.

So I thought I would give this a try. I don't feel comfortable asking for help, but I would really appreciate any gesture at all that might help reduce this burden. I figured if a bunch of people saw this and offered an amount they won't miss, it could still make a huge difference to me.

I have seen so much kindness in the innerweb.. I know there is no real reason why I would deserve it....

Anyway, every little bit helps~

But if it's something you'll miss, please don't put yourself out; even just a share would be nice.

Thanks for taking the effort to read my painkiller-muddled story...

*more frequent updates on my facebook page*

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