Surgery #1

It was finally here! I could hardly wait to get the show on the road. I found out I would receive the St Jude Abbott system. Here I am with my grandson Louie waiting to be prepped for surgery.

First a grid was drawn on my scalp and a halo was bolted to my head. Then I was placed in the MRI machine where a hole was drilled into the left side of my skull and a matching hole on the right side. An electrode was implanted on each side. A plastic cap plugged the holes where my skull used to be. They are raised up allowing room for the wires to come through. I now have permanent horns, haha.

Below is my CT scan right after the 8 hour surgery. The leads were coiled up under my scalp and will be connected in the next surgery. You can see them towards the back of my head.

While I was in recovery, I remember waking up with my fists next to my face shaking uncontrollably and I was unable to talk. The nurse was calling for the doctor because I was having baclofen withdrawals. Of course, I was in a fog coming out of surgery. In my drug induced state, I started crying because I couldn’t tell them I was alive and not to pull the plug. All I could think about was my living will, d’oh!

Here I am in ICU.