Thanks for having my back

I am not alone.

Seems a lot of people have back pain issues. It’s a common ailment among the elderly and a regular conversation topic.

I’m lucky, however; a lot of folks have my back, supportive of a medical procedure I underwent last Tuesday (March 30) at Queen’s Medical Center.

I’ve struggled with chronic lower back pain for a couple of decades, but always dodged the customary back surgery … because many people, including my primary spine doctor, said to seek alternate means to manage pain since the recovery could be as painful as the operation.

So when I located a pain management doctor who introduced me to a procedure where a battery could be inserted into my body – a stimulator that could manage pain through electronic charges wired to the battery – I signed up.

During a trial week, an external battery bandaged to my back and hooked to wires placed under my skin; the test confirmed I was good candidate for the real deal.

So now I’m recuperating at home, feeling like a bionic man with the battery near my butt and wiring inserted in my spine.

It’s been a curious challenge since. The pain recurs, but I can’t discern if it’s from the wounds of the incision, or my regular back aches, doing its occasional dance. I think it’s a combination of both.

I imagine the pain levels may see-saw, but I have a device that resembles a mini iPhone, which can regulate the power of the jolts: up when needed, down when not.

This new procedure means I won’t have to go in for cortisone shots every three months, which was a regular thing. The shots worked, but the level of relief returned sooner than later.

I’ll have the bandaging removed next Wednesday (April 7) then monitor life with a hidden implant.

This whole episode at least brought a LOL moment, from my cousin emailed me after I sent a photo of me on a gurney at Queen’s prior to being wheeled into the operating room. When she saw me in the required blue head net, she commented: “All I could think about when I saw your pic was, ‘Everything is better with blue bonnet on it…”