Post Op : Final Implant

This is going to be a fairly short post which I will add to as I am feeling better. Overall, the surgery went very well. I received more sedation during the final implant surgery than the first half of the trial. This made my surgery experience SOOOOO much better. I really don't remember any of the surgery. I felt fine the day of since I still had the drugs from the hospital in my system. The previous post I had made was from the day after surgery. That was by far the worst day. I have never been in so much pain. Yesterday I started feeling a little bit better. It is not as agonizing to move as it was the first day. Instead of the implant site feeling like a shark bite it now feels like a burning hot poker in my side. Somehow.. that is better. Yesterday I saw the doctor to make sure everything was ok with the battery implant site. I was having pain that could not be managed with pain meds and had some bleeding through the bandage. The physicians assistant re bandaged and said everything looked ok. She also took some x-rays to ensure the leads were properly placed. Thankfully everything looks good. I must apologize to my Saint Jude Medical reps, as after the surgery in my sedation induced haze, I had a breakdown and was convinced the leads were not in the right places. Sorry! Everything seems to be right! It is hard for me to feel the stimulation with all of the swelling and fluids built up, but I really am not focusing on the stimulation at all. Just trying to recover from the post-op pain. So today is day 3 after the surgery and I feel pretty identical to yesterday, which sucks. I have to go to work on Monday and at this rate of progress I am afraid I won't be able to make it. I am still spending at least 16 hours of the day laying in bed propped up on all sorts of pillows. Honestly, you really do need someone there to help you after this surgery. I still can barely get out of bed on my own. There is no way I would have managed without anyone to help me. While my Fiance was at work my Dad would come over to take care of me. So in summary, I am still very very sore. It is difficult to move (mostly sitting to standing or laying to sitting), and I walk very very slowly. I am ready to be well!!!! I know it has only been three days but man it is debilitating. I have posted some pics of the bandaged sites.

The Upper Left Lead , Upper Right Lead, Lower Left Lead, Battery Implant Site. (The black lines drawn from the shoulders to the hip are where the wires go from the leads to the battery site.)