My First Error Message

I know I've been lax about writing lately but it hasn't been because I've forgotten this blog...it's more that I don't feel I have much to say! Things are good...I'm healed up from the revision surgery, things feel great, my pain is very much under control, and life is good. Repeating that over and over doesn't make for a very exciting blog!

I did have one interesting incident this week that I suppose is worth writing about--I got my first error message from my stimulator. I charged it before bed on Monday night and everything was fine. I didn't have it turned up very high, so honestly I couldn't really tell if it was on or off...which is a good thing, in my opinion. It's nice to not be constantly aware of the stimulation. Anyway, on Tuesday night I had a bit of pain and went to turn the stimulator up, but the screen on my remote popped up with a picture of a telephone and a doctor, with the letters "POR" beneath it. It was obvious that it meant to call my doctor but of course it was 10:00 at night so that wasn't a possibility. I busted out the manual (which was still sealed in the plastic...I haven't ever used it) and found that this particular error message means "Power on Reset." I know...not very descriptive. The manual said that this error message means there has been some sort of interference, the stimulator has been reset, and that stimulation was not available. I, of course, thought that meant that all my programming had been deleted, and at the least I'd have to go meet up with my Medtronic rep to get things straightened out. But I don't tend to give up quite that easily. I took the batteries out of the remote for a few minutes, put them back in, poked a bunch of buttons, and wouldn't you know that error message went away and it magically started working again! I spoke to my Medtronic rep the next day and he said that particular error message isn't usually a big deal and can be solved exactly like I solved it. He said that I probably went through some store theft system that caused the interference, although for the life of me I can't figure out where that would be because the only places I went that day besides work were the post office and the bank, neither of which have magnetic theft systems. Who knows...maybe I just stood too close to the microwave at dinnertime! (No really, I've been told that's an actual possibility.)

So that's it. That's the extent of my drama, which is really a good thing. It's so nice to not be constantly dealing with doctors, pain, drugs, side effects, surgery, etc. It's nice for things to be quiet and medically boring. I will not complain about that!