Good Morning Jami-

Recovery with this new Boston Sci side kick of mine has gone very well. No, not anywhere as severe as the recovery from the laminectomy/discectomy/fusion. There is no back brace. I was sent home with ample bandaging of the incision sites and four med prescriptions to add on top of my pain management meds. I was sure to take them all. Keflex as an antibiotic to avoid infection, Decadron as a steroid to help through the first few days of potential inflammation, Flexeril for potential spasm control, and Percocet as a pain med were my arsenal of post-surgery weapons. I was sure to use the Keflex and Decadron in full, and those scrips lasted only up to a week at most. The Flexeril and Percocet I weaned away through the second week to discontinuance. There is still some soreness from surgery.... gosh, they did remove a bit of bone, pull back on some muscle, a bit of cutting, some push through of wires between the paddles and generator, so it seems a reasonable pain profile which is waning.

I am thrilled with the Boston Scientific unit! Would I be their poster boy.... in a heartbeat! The unit works so well, the controls so easy. I refer to my remote as a garage door opener; although, I was not given a program to actually open the door. It was installed with only a partial charge, so when I got home, the base unit was plugged into the wall for its charge, then I took a glue patch and put it to the test about a week after surgery. Interesting how the unit emits a beep while zeroing in on the generator, in my case in the right hip, then when it is directly over the generator, the beep stops and SMACK, it stuck it to me..... Well, OK, not necessarily SMACK because only the week before they had cut my open and stuck a foreign object in there, but you get the idea. I was a little more ginger with the removal of the adhesive.

Charging really only took about 45 minutes. My remote indicated full charge, and after five days of continuous use, still indicates full charge. This puppy is my new friend as it has brought me freedom from the "drive me to the brink of death" nerve pain, and I have been free from that pain since last Friday at mid-day when we calibrated/programmed the generator. I am HAPPY with this. Friends say they hear it in my voice and see it in my eyes. I feel as though God blessed me in a great way, and I am grateful.

Now to the beginning of withdrawal from the pain management meds. This will be a good thing, I can feel it.... I hope and pray yours goes as well. Yes I do!

Glad to have Boston Sci,
Mark56 PJ