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By Vic, 12 October, 2008 19:06

That’s it, all done and I’m happy to report that I’m now pain free as far as my lower back and leg go for the first time in years. I’m still sore from the surgery but this will settle down over time, especially once the ‘staples’ have been removed and things heal naturally.

The biggest surprise for me was that on arrival at the hospital and being seen by the consultant neuro-surgeon, he told me that he had decided not to do the trial run but to go ahead with the full and final procedure there and then. This was a fantastic bonus for me, as it meant that there would only be one procedure and not two which obviously meant only one visit and less time in hospital.

I’m told that the procedure is relatively simple. They made an incision just below the shoulder blades and placed one end of the lead along the spinal cord. This end ‘forks’ and has a number of electrodes which transmit the stimulation to either side of the cord.  The lead was then ‘threaded’ along the spine to the stimulator unit that was placed in a ‘pocket’ cut just above my right buttock, which has left me with a nice small hump.

Once the surgical part of the process had been completed, a technician then calibrated the stimulator and loaded the different programs that vary the types on stimulation available. This took some time as there are so many variables to consider but once completed, it gives me total control over how the pain is managed.

The stimulator unit itself  is controlled from a remote control which I hold over the buried unit when I activate any of the buttons to change the stimlation level or type.

The stimulator runs on rechargeable batteries which should last for years, meaning I don’t have to be cut open to have them changed (phew). The charger is a small disc-like unit which sits in a recharging base station. When I need to recharge the stimulator, I am prompted by the remote, I then take the charging disc and stick it on the skin over the stimulator using a double sided sticky pad. The charge then passes through my skin to the stimulator beneath. The remote lets me know once it’s charged and I’m ready to go again.

This whole thing has meant the start of a new life; free of pain and freedom to do the the things I had previously taken for granted. Needless to say, I’ll be making the most of it once I’ve got the soreness out of the way and it’s declared safe to do so.

A big thank you to the manufacturer of the ‘Precision Plus‘ Spinal Cord Stimulation hardware that’s made this possible, Boston scientific, the staff at Hurstwood Park neurological unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath for their kindness and professionalism. Many thanks to Dr. Stephen Ward and James Akinwunmi for their work in obtaining this treatment for me and James in particular for doing the surgery.

Comments (2)

By Vic, 4 October, 2008 00:59

Apologies to those of you bored enough to read these pages for the recent lack of reports. I’m afraid I’ve been laid up with the chronic back pain I suffer from, so haven’t managed to get out much. However, I think this may be about to change.

After a long battle, I’ve finally been given the go-ahead to have surgery that means I could be pain free for the first time in years. I’m absolutely over the ****in’ moon. The procedure is called Spinal Cord Stimulation and in simple terms, consists of an electrode inserted in the spine and pulses are sent along the electrode from a ‘magic box’ that is implanted nearby. The pulses replace the pain sensation with a tingling which is slightly more desirable. The whole thing is managed by a remote control which can be used to vary the levels of the pulses. Here’s a video presentation for anyone who is interested.

I’m booked into hospital for 9th October for the trial which should last for about 2-3 weeks. If that is sucessful, then I’ll have the full implant done immediately. I’ll update the progress here for the sake of anyone reading who may be in a similar situation and is considering or has been offered this treatment.

Looks like I’ll be missing some fishing in the mean time while it’s all being sorted but that’s a small price to pay to be pain free. This also gives Seaford beach a chance to build up its stocks ready for my return.

Just gotta keep me fingers crossed that it works.

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By Vic, 22 July, 2008 15:11

Decided to have another bash down at Brighton Marina on Sunday night as it seemed a pity to waste the good weather.

So armed with some peeler crab, I arrived at the East arm around 9.30pm. I first set up in bay 16 but after a few casts, decided to move further out to bay 26. Tackle consisted of a DVice on a running ledger and single 3/0 hook.

The weather was settled, although the predicted North Westerly breeze had shifted to a Westerly and so was blowing straight along the arm instead of behind.

I had my first run some time later, which happened just as I was engaged in paying for my ticket, so missed it. However, As I retrieved, there was tons of slack line which after taking up, I found a fish still attached – a nice little smooth Hound of around 2½lbs.

I rebaited, cast out and had a run instantly which was another smooth Hound, this time around the 5lbs mark. This turned out to be the largest of the night, although I totalled 8 by the end of the session. A couple were really small pups which I couldn’t believe could get a 3/0 hook in their mouths.

A second rod had been used during the session which I had baited with lug worm in the hope of getting some sole. All it managed to attract though, was a small ‘micro’ bass, as small thornback and the usual Pout.

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By Vic, 19 July, 2008 16:20

After a month of being laid up and not being be able to get out amongst the fishes, I was glad to finally manage a session a few days ago on Wednesday evening.

For ease of access, I plumped for the East arm at Brighton Marina and on arrival settled, myself in bay 28 and unpacked my gear.

I set up a rod using a a DVice on a running ledger with a 3/0 hook baited with hermit crab and cast it out. I then saw the mackerel shoaling near to the wall, so set up some feathers to get a few to top up my bait. Within a minute I had enough to see me through the session.

The water was literally boiling with the amount of mackerel. I have seen big shoals there before but not to this extent; to say the water there was full of fish would have been an under statement. It never ceases to amaze me when I see this happening, it really is one of nature’s little shows.

Having stocked with bait, I set up another rod with a running ledger and two hook pennel baited with mackerel fillet and lobbed out.

The next wonderful nature show was a couple of Dolphins a few hundred yards out from the wall. I saw at least two individuals doing there thing around on the surface but don’t know if there were others around too. I wish I could have caught them on camera but with the limitations of the camera and not knowing where they were going to surface next made it impossible.

Having watched the Dolphins, I sat back and waited and wondered when the predicted rain would arrive, The clouds were dark and threatening and were coming in on a light breeze from the South West, where it appeared to be getting darker. As it happened, the rain never materialised and it stayed a dry night.

First fish didn’t arrive until the last light had gone and was a small thornback about twice twice the size of my hand which had taken the crab bait. This was released, the hook rebaited and cast out again. The next bite was a sharp tug followed by nothing which I left to see if it would develop. After about 2-3 minutes, I retrieved the rig to find a small whiting firmly attached.

As for the other rod, I rebaited several times and no matter what I tried, I could not get a bite on this at all.

The next customer was a small smooth Hound pup of about 2lbs which was swung in, unhooked and released. I did hope that the larger ones would show up soon but it went really quiet with no more action until about two hours after high water when the crab rod suddenly lurched right over and the ratchet screamed, indicating a better fish. After a couple of minutes, the fish showed itself on the surface and was guided into the drop net (not easy when done single handed). It was another smooth Hound – a bit bigger at around the 4lbs mark, again it was unhooked and returned by way of dropping it in the net.

That was it for the rest of time I was there, with no indications of further fish activity. So, slightly disappointed, I walked off at around 2.30am.