OK.......long overdue update. It has been a tough week on this end. The surgery went well and was much less painful than I had led myself to believe it would be.
I had, what the surgeon said, a "not uncommon" reaction to him cleaning up the adhesions in my lower back caused by various different injuries over the years. All that I can tell you is that it felt just like someone had been punching me in the ribs from the time I woke up in recovery, right up until yesterday morning. The "culprit" turned out to be an irritation of the nerves that run from your spine, down each rib to your sternum. As soon as they ruled out more serious things that it could have been and started me on some anti-inflamatory medicine, I started to get some relief.
I was well prepared for the pain from the two incisions on my back, but that abdominal pain was very simply kicking my ass. I haven't willingly taken any kind of a narcotic painkiller since January of 1990 due to my "addictive personality". To me, it's like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole. It doesn't fix the damage done that can't be seen and is nothing more than a "temporary fix" at best. I've gotten through a lot, without taking their pain-killers.......just fine, so.....no thank-you.
Anyways.......I have two incisions on my back. One is vertical and runs down my thoracic vertebrae for about 5 inches. The other one is horizontal, at my belt line on my right side for about 4 inches. The upper incision was for the power unit and the lower one for the lithium ion battery pack that requires me to recharge it for about an hour a week by holding a charging paddle over it on the outside of my skin. Both units are completely imbedded and unable to be seen externally.
I have a remote that powers it on and off and allows me to totally control the amount and strength of the electrical stimulation that I am receiving. Pretty cool......huh ? I'm healing up well and the staples they used to close the incisions will come out tomorrow afternoon. The whole procedure has been a walk in the park......except for the abdominal pain, which is slowly subsiding.
I want to personally thank each and every one of y'all for your well wishes and most especially your prayers. It means so much to me and my family. May God bless you ALL in a very special way for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.
Winterhawk1960
Topic: Surgery on Monday morning (Read 2301 times)
