Power-up Day

I am not sure where to begin. When I got to the hospital in Regina today, the person I was suppose to see to power up my implants was not there. Holidays. Her assistant was very competent and capable but didn't feel comfortable turning up the power as much as it probably should have been. There was also still some swelling around two of the contact points in the implant that controls the right side of my body so they could not be activated at this time.

Let me explain the technical stuff.

When I had my surgery on the 18th , they put two nuero implants in my brain and wired them to a power pack which they placed under the skin on my shoulder. Each implant has four receptors so that means there is eight different points in my brain where they can make contact. Each receptor or contact point can be independently programmed to a different voltage and a different sequence.

Each contact point has the ability to stimulate different parts of the body such as tremors, balance, speech, muscle rigidity and coordination. As well, different contact points can affect things like tremors more efficiently than other points so the trick is to find which contact is the most efficient (least power draw means longer battery life) to do the job the best. Throw into the mix that I can't completely eliminate medication and it becomes a delicate balancing act between meds, contact points and the fact that this has to last for a long time because there is no other option right now in the medical world. Something better may come along in the years to come but right now this is as good as it gets. As much as I want to dial my body back a few years, I have to make sure I have options 1, 2, 5 and 10 years down the road.

Getting back to the implants, I said before there were two contact points on the right side of my body that couldn't be activated right now because of swelling and there was one, again on the right side that will not be activated. That left them only one contact point on the right side to work with and my right side is my worst, so it will be take a few more visits to get my right side tuned. I think you can appreciate the challenges.

My left side feels fantastic. If they can get my right side equal to my left side, there will be one huge party at my house and it will last for years. You are all invited.

Take care and if you have any questions, please ask.

PS They did give me a remote control. It can only turn me on and off right now but it has the ability to increase or decrease the voltage to the implants we ever get to that point.

Hi everyone..

Not much new since my last post. I am patiently waiting for next Wednesday when they turn the power to the implants. It has been a bit of a battle with the meds not behaving the way they should and knowing you have these things in your head that are suppose to help but you have to wait.

Oh well.

I am taking it very easy these days as the headaches come on quickly. It is getting better though.

I will talk to you again after the implants are powered up. Take care.

Difficulties

The last few of days have not been easy. The power pack thy put in my chest has moved or shifted or something and is very uncomfortable and at times painful. I am getting more frequent headaches with sharp pain from the one incision on a regular basis. I don't know why other than the fact I have probably been doing to much physical activity.

Given the fact that Connie is almost working full time , we have decided to close Marnies for the time being. It has been our life for the past 7 years but things change. The implants will hopefully improve my quality of life but the bottom line is they are not a cure. It might be time to end that chapter in our book of life.