30 days post surgery

Good evening it is 10:15 pm. Today makes 30 days post surgery. I have been wanting to write a update but I have been busy. I have been feeling really good and the stimulator is working very well. My daily pain has been 0 to maybe 1/2 out of 10, but all related from the surgery.The nasty headaches have been gone!  My back is still a little sore but improving every day. I am returning to work on May 30th!! YAY. I will be glad to be back at what I love. This morning was also emotional due to the fact I attended a fallen fire-fighters funeral. * My thoughts and prayers go out to the Porter family and the Sacramento City Fire Department* Since the surgery I have had alot more energy and have been sleeping alot better. I have got the stimulation settings in a decent range and have not had to change them much. Once in a while I also seem to forget that it is there. It has truly been amazing to be able to feel this way. All of the incisions are healing very well.  I am really surprised on how fast thing have healed up. To answer some questions the stimulator is still on 24/7 and  I would recommend this surgery to any one that is considering it. Both Dr. Pappas and the Medtronic staff have been amazing! To end this I want to reflect back on a quote from the service this am "Hold your head high, chest out and shoulders square!" This quote ment alot to me and I thought back on how much has changed in my life over the last month. I also started to think about all the positive things, how lucky I am to have such a caring family and how each day is so special. With that being said I want to take the time to thank Nicole, my family and all my friends for the support and encouragement I have got over the last few month, most of you don't know how much it has helped THANK YOU and good night :)

17 days post surgery

Good evening its 11:00 pm on sat night- First off most of you will be reading this on Sunday so happy Mothers Day. The last 17 days have been amazing for me. I am still sore from the surgery but that is getting better each day. The surgery sites are healing very well and the incision on the back of my head is hard to notice. The stimulator is working very well. I had my 2 week apt with the surgeon on the 9th. The apt went very well. Jacob the medtronic reb was also there. All the functions of my stim were checked and it was said every thing is working as it should. The dr also took out the stitches that were on the back of my head/neck area. (that was painful because the area was starting to scab and they had to pull it off to get to the stitches ) The other two wounds were stitched from the inside and then steri strips placed over.  Jacob also added more programing to my stim remote. I  now have a few different settings to use. He added 1 that gives a wider coverage area and feels different. I can also change the impulses per second. That range can go from 10-100. Right now I have it at 45, so basically it taps 45 times a second. I don't have much feeling to the full right side of my head (it will stay that way). I can feel pressure but not pain or heat/cold. I am getting used to the feeling of the stim and it actually feels good and the stim  has been running 24/7. To clear up some questions the stim will stay permanently and will prob run 24/7 for at least a few years. Also to answer another question I will be returning to work soon ;) My return date will be in between the 23rd of this month  and 6th of June. When I talked with the doctor he said it was really up to me and how I am feeling. I have been very board at home and anxious to do things but I know I still have some healing to do. My next re-check apt for the stim will be in about 3-4 weeks and then it will be about every 6 months. Another common ? I have been getting is if I am glad I had the surgery. The answer to that would be YES! I am very glad that I had it done as I have felt AMAZING and the headaches are GONE! Jacob told me I will still have my good and bad days but the pain will never be a severe as it was before. With the stim I can also control and " block" the pain. what I love about the program is I can turn it up or down or even off if I want to.  Not to much more to say but that I am doing really well. I also want to take the time to thank my wonderful wife and my few special friends that have really helped me through this past month. Also a big thanks to all my family and friends for all the texts and messages :) Good night and I hope everyone has a great weekend!  * to my EMS/FD/PD please stay safe and I will see you soon ;) * If you would like to see updated pics please click here as the last 3 in the album are updated from the last 2 days

One week after surgery

Good afternoon :) today is one week after my surgery. I am doing very well and the pain is very minimal. The headaches have been gone since last week and it has been amazing to be living with out the headaches, dizziness. nausea, motion sickness and pressure behind my right eye. I will say that this surgery hurt ALOT and it was not very fun to go through. My incisions are healing good and we got to take the bandages off that were placed in the operating room. I have some updated pictures, but some many say they are graphic so if you want to see them please click on the link at the bottom of this entry. Each day I am getting more motion in my neck and today I can describe the pain like a pulled muscle (mostly in the back area) I have been taking very little pain medications which is a good thing. I took vicodin before bed last night (11:00) and then around 1pm this afternoon. In the next few days I am going to try motrin and see how that works. I have found a really good setting for the stimulator and have not had to change it very much. My next dr's apt is May 10th. They hope to pull out the stitches and plan on adjusting the programing and adding more features that I can use. The rep (Jacob) from medtronic has been VERY helpful and has been checking on me alot. Its glad to know that the people that make this stimulator actually care how the patients are doing afterwords. Today is also a special day for another reason. It is my 3rd wedding anniversary (I love you alot Nicole and thank you for being by my side for all of this!! You are truly an amazing wife) So I am hoping to be able to go back to work soon and have been very board around the house. I also want to thank all my family and friends for the support they have given me over the last few months. Not much else to say, but I am so glad I am feeling better and things are getting back to "normal" for me (some will know what " normal "means ;) )  I hope everyone has been doing well and keep in touch :)

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