a LONG update

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Update:

Today I saw the medtronics representative (the company that makes my spinal

cord stimulator). I didn't get their R.N. because she was caught in traffic in

Dayton, but I did get one of the other reps. She met with me at one of the

Mayfield Spine Institute branches. We also finally got a call in to have the

office prescribe some more pain meds until I see the surgeon.

#1-She examined the incisions and thought they looked good. I showed her the

tightness between the two incisions, where the wires are fished underneath the

skin and soft tissue-and she agreed that it felt much tighter than it should

be. She acknowledged that this would cause muscle pain. She is going to

research what size extension they used between the device in my belly and the

lead

wires in my back. She is curious if they cut it too short, or if it is possible

that it burrowed deeper than it should have or gotten twisted somewhere.

She's not really sure what the problem is, but she does acknowledge that it

could

be a problem. We are to talk it over when we have the appointment with my

surgeon next Thursday.

#2-She reset the programs. We found several that will work well. At least 6

for now. And I can use them individually, or in tandem with up to 2 other

programs at a time. She said she isn't sure why, but my system is backwards from

most. They connected my lead wires in such a way, that what is normally sending

signals to the right side is sending it to the left, and vica versa. Took her

twice as long to figure out programs that would work because of it. She isn't

sure, again, if the wires got twisted, or if the doctor came at it from a

different perspective (perhaps going from the top down rather than from the

bottom

up, which would make the leads on the opposite side). And she's not sure why

they would decide to do something different. So again-something to look into.

I do like the new settings!

#3-She taught us how to recharge the unit. We ran into a big problem here.

She said it normally takes 2-3 tries to position the magnet over the device that

is under the belly to get a good signal to recharge it. There are 8 bars on

the device to show the signal, and you want at least a 5 or more (much like a

cell phone). The most she could get with me was 4 bars, but she couldn't hold

it there-it kept going back down to 0 bars. She said the device showed it was

still charging, but it would take MUCH longer at that rate, than if I had the

better signal. I'm wondering if the same body chemistry that causes me to stop

watches could be what caused the problem. She fussed with it for a long time

to try to get a signal, and to be honest, I finally had to tell her I was too

tender for her to be pushing around on my belly to try to find a good signal.

We were with her for over an hour and a half.

#4-The Medtronics gal also said if we couldn't get something figured out, we

could do x-rays to see if the device is where it should be. She said it could

have flipped front to back, or gone too deep into the tissue. We could also

use x-ray if we have to to check why my side is so tight where the wires connect

from front to back. She is thinking they used too tight of a cord-sort of

like having a belt a smaller size than your pant size-it would be too tight on

you-and that is how it feels across my flank-and you can feel it on the outside

with your hand, as well as see it.

I'm wondering, since I was born with some things different with me, if that

is why my signals are flip-flopped right and left and even in location of level

on the right or left side. You could tell when she programmed things in-she

wouldn't tell me where I would sense the vibration, and often I would tell her

a different location than she expected. I know everyone is " wired " a little

differently...but...

I just hope that I can get a good charge on the device so that I'm not

" hooked up " very often. Russ is thinking-if he gets the recharger fully charged

and

then connects it to me, it might do better than the one just out of the case.

The rep does these all the time though, so who knows?

So-that is where things stand. A lot to pray about! And your prayers mean

SOOOO much to me!

Gratefully,

Kathy

++++

Kathy Carlton Willis

Living Out Loud Communications & Manuscript Editorial Services

WillisWay@...