Well it’s crunch time and I’m into the eleventh hour in getting everything ready for the Arts Festival tomorrow. All my pictures are ready to go and this evening I spent the night setting up and getting ready for the sale. All we need now is for some good weather, and for lots of people to show up. The last few days have been a real physical challenge for me, and to say that I’m not experiencing a rise in my pain level wouldn’t be telling you the truth. However the hard part is over now I get to sit back sell a few photos and enjoy the festival!

In the last several weeks I’ve been pushing myself a lot harder than I normally would and as a result my CRPS is showing me its response. Without the implants things would be a whole lot worse. So far I’m very happy with what they are doing for me. I’ve received lots of emails asking me what life is like now that I have them, and so in today’s post I wanted to try and answer some of those questions. There are a few big changes and other changes that aren’t so big that have occurred.

If your looking for CRPS to disappear then you shouldn’t be getting the implants because it’s about obtaining a quality of life that you didn’t have before the implants. You still have to deal with certain aspects of CRPS, it doesn’t just disappear. Nobody can say what your pain is going to be like after the implants but for me the pain control has been worth it. It’s about educating yourself and then making a choice. When I went into it I did a lot of praying and let God make the difficult decisions for me.

My mindset going into the surgery was that if I could get any pain relief at all, even if it was 10% then it would make it all worth doing. I didn’t let myself expect that I was going to get the 60% that the doctor said was possible. It isn’t easy but once you wrap your thoughts around that it makes the decision easier. The surgery and everything you have to go through is the hardest part of it all. Its been four months and I’m mostly over all the recovery but I’m still getting better.

Lots of people have asked me what it feels like to have the batteries in my body and my answer is that I hardly notice them at all. I have two and the one in my back is the one I notice more than the one in my abdomen. The only real negative that I can find is that with the implant that controls my upper limb, there is a little bit of reduced movement in my neck. It really isn’t all that bad though! The biggest hassle is trying to get used to your new routine that you’ll have to get used to, like charging your battery every week and packing around the gear that you’ll have.

I’ve also had to get used to a regular routine of charging my implants. I charge my units on a weekly basis so that I don’t ever have to worry about them running out of charge. It’s just easier for me to make it a part of my weekly routine. Travel is another aspect that you’ll have to get used to but again it’s a very minor detail in the grand scheme of things. If your flying make sure you arrive early but most airports are good in dealing with things. I’ve had one bad flight in about four since having it done.

You have to expect that there are going to be a few trade offs when it comes to getting the implants done. I happen to think that there are more good than bad and that my overall experience has been very positive. Take the time to really think about it and as I said before educate yourself. If you have the knowledge then it allows you to process everything and make your decision. If you have any questions as I’ve said before please feel free to contact me.