As many people were celebrating the New Year with sparkling champagne or some other way to get “a buzz on,” I was having a personal “buzz machine” implanted in my spine.
No, I have not gotten into some New Age technological super high, but I do admit I am being forever “buzzed” by a remote control. I recently saw a cartoon titled, “A Husband’s Ultimate Gift” where the man was able to manipulate his wife with a remote control. Technology hasn’t caught up with itself, but now I truly carry my remote control device at all times, adjusting it almost hourly. Also, I not only have to charge the remote, but I also have to “plug in” to an electronic inductive charger when my implant starts to diminish. Enough of the mystery teaser, I am simply using a product that is the result of amazing medical advancement in the field of neurological pain relief. After fifteen years of ever-increasing chronic leg pain…
This is my last and ultimate hope.
Many of you reading this have gone through excruciating back pain, hip replacements, sciatica, leg problems, and knee replacements. Sometimes the culprit of the cause is old age, wear and tear or even injuries or accidents. The first question doctors have asked me from the beginning is, “When and how did this pain begin?” I must admit that I am totally clueless. All I can even speculate is that when I retired from teaching high school several years ago, I had been on my feet practically all day, all the time. When I soon was hired as an afternoon three hour drive-time talk show host, I then had two hours of seated prep time, plus two hours of commuting, and then the time on air. The new sedentary lifestyle was the only possible explanation for whatever and wherever the root of the problem began. When the stabbing pain increased to the extent that at times I was incapacitated on a daily basis, doctor after doctor tried everything known to modern medicine. After four doctors, three neurologists, physical therapy, ultrasounds, cat scans, MRI’s, x-rays, and external electronic stimulation, and numerous prescriptions for pills and medications,
I began to feel like a zombie!
Three years ago I finally become a “case study” as a result of an excellent team of researchers at three different hospitals working on me for over ten years. Washington University School of Medicine teams with Barnes Hospital here in St. Louis and is ranked as one of the best in the nation. At the end of the study, one of the top specialists told me I was an “enigma wrapped in a conundrum.” And so, the final solution was to have this electronic device, a spinal neuro-stimulator, implanted in my back with electrodes extending along my spine. 2015 has begun with my new resolve to keep a good buzz on. Once I get the hang of working my new remote, I probably will live virtually pain free, and be good for the next chapter of life.
I have always been an optimist who believes that things happen for a reason or a season.
I have so many friends and family members who would gladly trade my pain for the excruciating things they are experiencing. Many are battling disease, cancer, family concerns, financial issues, or worse. I have come to the conclusion that everybody has something! I have so much more empathy for those dealing with chronic pain, and I have been reminded of the amazing love and support I have from incredible family and friends. In the midst of all we go through, I know it’s a cliche, but we really do become “bitter or better.” I have decided to not waste the pain, but instead to press through – physically, emotionally and spiritually. I know there is someone who needs to know there is hope for them, and someone who cares!
Read more posts by Debra Peppers, Ph.D., here.
The post is presented by the National Publicist, Annie Jennings of the NYC based PR Firm, Annie Jennings PR. Annie Jennings PR specializes in marketing books for getting authors booked on radio talk show interviews, TV shows in major online and in high circulation magazines and newspapers. Annie also works with speaker and experts to build up powerful platforms of credibility and influence.
