All set for Tuesday!!
 

The hospital called today and my trial SCS is scheduled for this Tuesday, the 24th! I'm supposed to be there at 11:30 a.m. and they said it would probably take about 4 hours. My sister and niece are taking me, so I will be in good hands all the way around. My sister is a dispatcher for the CA Highway Patrol and my niece (her daughter) is an RN, so if anything should go wrong once I get home I'll certainly be well taken care of. That's a good thing, since I live alone! The hospital is only about 15 miles away, so there won't even be much of a ride home afterward. :D

I'm nervous and excited and hopeful and a teensy bit scared (but not much). Mostly I just hope this will be the beginning to the end of some of this pain that has become so limiting to my life. This weekend I'm going to attempt to go to a bluegrass festival nearby, so maybe that will take my mind off this during that crazy waiting period until Tuesday. It will be nice to just chill with my friends and listen to some music on Saturday.

Thanks so much, everyone, for all the wonderful information and experience that you have contributed. It makes this whole process so much easier, just knowing that there are others who have found relief via their SCS. The love and support here is truly amazing, too, and I am so grateful for each of you.

Big hugs all 'round,
Jan :hug:

Well, and you know we will be praying for you
 

All will be well,
and all manner of things will be well.
St. Julian of Nor'ich

Prayin now,
Mark56:hug:

Have fun at the music festival. There's no better way to spend a day than being with friends listening to music. Relax and enjoy. Tuesday will be here before you know it.

Take time to get your house in order. Bring things to counter level from below and up above.
Make sure you pick up one of those reach/grab things if you don't already have one. Things will be above shoulder level or on the floor.

Good luck . Praying you find the relief you've been looking for.

Sandy Kay

Thanks!
 

Hey everyone, thanks so much for the tips, prayers, and well-wishes. Now I'm off to listen to some of the best bluegrass music in the country, and maybe even get to jam with friends a little bit!

Strum strum,
Jan :cool:

On the other hand, take your time getting the house ready for this and don't push the envelope thinking that the trial will undo the damage from unwise activity. I remember the "good old days" when I was dumb enough to do big time deep cleaning the week before surgeries. I'd do walls, shampoo carpeting and move the furniture, thinking that the surgeon could just undo any further damage since he was going in anyhow. :eek: So dumb on my part. Then there was the time I threw a birthday party for my grandson the day after I came home from the hospital after having a three level disc/lam. I have made most of the mistakes and can say from experience to take it easy. Best wishes.

I only meant to get the things you use most frequently at a level where you won't be bending or reaching above your shoulders. Never meant to imply a deep cleaning.:)

Sandy Kay

Jammin Jan!
 

Hope you had a great time with your friends at the festival!
What do you play? guitar? I miss the jammin days. I loved playin guitar (blues, rock, folk, Neil Young, Neil Young :))
I carry an emptiness where the music used to be. I'd like to think I'll play again, but the motivation to start just ain't there.

I know how you feel with the anticipation of the trial coming up.
You'll be just fine. I can't stress enuf of the reacher/grabber that Sandy mentions. The invention of that gizmo has been a gift from Heaven :p You know, I STILL use that thing to pick up stinky socks from my twin teen's rooms :eek:

We'll anxiously be awaiting an update!!

:hug: Rae :hug:

I agree...that grabber is good to have around period.... It comes in handy for so many things. Believe it or not; even put a kleenex on the tip and got a spider that was on the upper part of the wall. I have a couple of them. Found the one with the rubber tip the best because it does not scratch things.


(Gerry)

Good luck on Tuesday, Jan! Can't wait to hear how it goes! You've been waiting awhile for this so I'll be praying that you finally find some relief with this trial!

Yea Jan!!!
 

A stummer who needs to grab that Rae and get with you on Pooh's ranch for a blue grass jam picnic BBQ AFTER the healing has set in from you PERMANENT install after a Successful Trial!!

Yup,
Get the pond ready Pooh,
Mark56:grouphug:

Festival was great!
 

Went to the bluegrass festival and heard some good tunes. One of my favorite groups, Monroe Crossing, was there so that was a real treat! I even got to chat with some of the members of the band--one of the nice benefits of bluegrass festivals. Now I'm paying for the drive and the long time sitting, but that's okay. Some pain is worth the music!

Thanks so much everyone, for all the great ideas and encouragement! I still have my reacher that they gave me after the fusion surgery, and that little gadget is something I don't know how I ever lived without. I still use it all the time.

Once I get this pain under control and get the permanent SCS in, I think we should have a bluegrass jam/party/celebration of our own! Yes, Rae, I play the guitar, also a little bit of mandolin, keyboard, autoharp, and harmonica. Oh, and I recently got a ukelele, but have a ways to go before it will sound pleasing rather than painful! Wouldn't it be fun to sit around and sing and play and compare our "war stories"? LOL! Well, if not here, then maybe someday up There! A few years ago my brother Joe and I made a CD of songs we've written over the years, and we had SO much fun! Nothing like playing and singing to heal the soul.

Tuesday's the day--I'll keep you all posted on how it goes. Tomorrow I'll do some last minute preparations around the house, so that I don't have to bend, lift, reach, or stretch once they put those temporary leads in my back. Thanks so much for the prayers, too. That means a lot, and I pray for you all continually as well. I figure you need the prayers and I need the practice...lol!!

Hugs all 'round,
Jan :grouphug: