Another Gift From My Cancer

JOY SCALE: 7/10
Hi Everyone, When my cancer spread to my bones the tumors eat away at the bones. Parts of the affected bones become hollow until they start to grow back. Unfortunately when the tumor eats into the nerve layer of my bones there is no regrowth. The nerves are exposed and that is where the GIFT of PAIN comes from. The pain is excruciating and the doctors try various medications and treatments to try and lessen the pain. Some of the treatments are the application of hot and cold, TENS unit which stimulates the nerves, and nerve blocks. All of the treatments failed. The medications consisted of Fentanyl, Gabapentin, Morphine, Oxycodone, and other pain killing chemicals. Some of the medications worked, but I was a zombie most of the time. I could doze off anywhere and anytime. My beautiful wife, who is also a nurse, did some research and discovered that the medical field used pain pumps that where implanted under your skin layer. I went through the usual test to see if I could handle a pump and I passed with flying colors. Several weeks later my pump was implanted in the lower right abdomen under my skin. The pump has a small diameter tube that is also implanted under my skin and routed around my side and up into the space that surrounds my spinal cord. This space is called the Intrathecal Space. Pain pumps are generally filled with Morphine and are programmed to dispense the medication 24/7. Mine was no different. Pain pumps usually take a few visits to the doctor's office to adjust the rate of flow so that your pain can be relieved as much as possible. I tried the pump at higher doses, but I didn't want to go back to being a zombie. I have my pump adjusted so that I don't doze off like I did before. That means that my pain level isn't reduced as much, but it is worth staying awake. I will say more on the Gift of Pain in the next post, but I would like to share a story about my pain pump. When I first had my pump implanted I had it set to dispense the Morphine at a low dose. That setting didn't work so I went back in to have it increased. That setting didn't work either. I kept going back twice a week for two months and each time the technician would increase the dose 15% to 25%. My pain remained the same. After two months of pump adjustments with no change in pain levels the doctor decided to do some investigating. I went through a few tests, but none of them were conclusive. However the general theory was that the tube that connected the pump and the intrathecal space had become disconnected at the pump. My pump was a new model and had a new snap-on type connector. The old connectors were sutured in place and very rarely became disconnected. It took a month to get my surgery scheduled. While waiting for my surgery my wife called the pump manufacturer and asked them if the new type connector could be sutured in place. They said yes. When they did the surgery their theory turned out to be true. My tube had become disconnected! The doctor sutured the connector to the pump and sewed me up. What a difference it makes when all the parts are working together. End of story.
Peace and Love to All