Whew — what a day. My surgery didn’t exactly go according to plan, and I wanted to share the whole wild update.

We arrived right on time at the hospital, fasting since midnight, ready to go. The receptionist looks up and says:

“Oh no, I forgot about you…”

Wait, what? 😳 Turns out, the dehumidifier broke in the OR, and they had techs trying to fix it — but they wouldn’t know for at least an hour if it would be usable. So, no surgery (yet), no food, just waiting and wondering.

Thankfully, my surgeon arrived, took one look at the situation and said:

“You want this done today?”

Me: “YES.”

Him: “Let’s relocate.”

So we jumped in the car and drove over to the southside hospital, where — incredible guy that he is — my doctor had already called in a whole team of extra specialists to make sure everything went perfectly:

• A nerve monitoring tech

• A muscle mapping specialist

• And several other surgical team members, all of whom traveled with him.

That meant another wait (of course) while we got Work Comp transfer approval, but eventually I was rolled back and fully under anesthesia (thank goodness 🙌).

🔩 Post-Surgery Reality Check

Now I’m awake… and holy moly — this pain is next level.

To get the stimulator leads placed exactly right, they had to tunnel deep through muscle and create a pocket in my muscle for the battery pack.

Then, yes — staples to close it all up.

Not cute.

Every. Single. Muscle. Hurts.

I can barely get out of bed by myself. Turning hurts. Lying too long hurts. Even breathing deep feels like work. This level of surgical pain is definitely something I wasn’t fully prepared for.

The stimulator is on the lowest setting until my post-op. That’s when the real test begins — once the surgical pain starts fading and we see what this thing can really do.

I’ll share more as I heal. For now, I’m focused on rest, ice packs, and taking it one (painful) step at a time. Thankful for my husband who takes the night shift- mom takes afternoon early evening and my bonus dad who takes the morning and afternoon shift in staying with me. And for sam and Hannah who are amazingly watching our boys so I can heal! It takes a village!!

💬 Drop a comment if you’ve had a spinal cord stimulator or pain implant surgery — I’d love to hear your experience or tips for recovery.