The fix is in

 Here's a pic of ol retired #003 after being wheeled back into the recovery room after my Radio Frequency Ablation ( rfa ) .  Even though the Deep Vein Thrombosis I've dealt with lately was very serious this old age arthritic neck of mine was really interfering with my life style , me and MPeasy had coined our own clinical name for it ....3 hour neck...because that's about as long as I could do anything before the pain / tingling / numbness would send me to the recliner .

Well....to the rescue Dr.'s  Anthony Russo and Steve Perry at the Billings Clinic in Bozeman Montana . When it became unbearable I went to a Helena Doctor who offered Cervical fusion surgery . I settled on Physical therapy and just hoped it would get better...it didn't. So then I went searching for the best care available and I found it. If I'm good at anything it's public relations so I ask people, sometimes strangers, I do research and then I am persistent and finally got the call that Dr. Russo would take me on as a patient . After looking at my MRI and x-rays that I had to rather forcibly retrieve from my first Dr. and talking with me about lifestyle and goals Dr. Russo said that yes, he could fix it with surgery but he suggested we try the less invasive RFA first....so O.K. ...off we go. When you seek counsel always accept it . 

This deal is not for the faint of heart. To make sure the ablation has a good chance of success they first do two Medial Branch Blocks which are kinda like a spinal pain block. They insert 4 needles into my neck at C3 through C6. These needles are flexible and they probe using imaging technology to find just the right nerve bundles. No anesthesia as you have to be awake to tell them if you feel anything that you shouldn't or if you lose any movement and then they inject lidocaine and it's simple, if the pain / tingling stops they know they're in the right spot. One of the reasons the procedure is bearable is because it happens fairly fast and Steve keeps you motivated by telling you how much longer you need to be still. I told the operating theatre the wisdom of Willy Nelson when he said ' the weight of an object is not as important as how long you have to hold on to it ' . Then several weeks after the 1st procedure they do it again to make absolutely sure they are in the right spot. On the follow  up Steve asked me how it went and I told him that I was actually having fairly severe numbness and tingling  when he did the procedure and it stopped immediately but I was disappointed in that it came back within and hour.....He said ' Perfect ' that's exactly what we want to see !

So Tuesday was the day for the main event , the actual Ablation . They had kinda used up the surprise factor on me and I was having pretty good anxiety leading up to it , and for good reason. But this time they said I would get a mild sedative that would help the discomfort and still allow me to talk with them. It was described as ' like have two margaritas '....I told them I'm usually a 3 or 4 Margarita guy and they said har har but you're still only getting 2. So the procedure it kinda the same but longer and after probing and positioning they go from one needle to the next with the Radio Frequency which creates heat and kinda burns the nerve bundles. Kind of like a caughterize .Then they inject some cortisone to help you in the short term . Then they pull the needles out and ask you how you feel....I tell them I really liked the Tammy Wynette and George Jones music. 

The Ablation needles are bigger than the block needles at 8 or 10 m.m. , 1/8 of an inch or so . On the first two procedures they have a needle in you and are prepared to do sedation if the patient can't handle the procedure and as uncomfortable as it is they said I was good to go for the whole show, some patients don't make the cut....I learned a lot about myself. MP said that I'd been very brave....well, I found out that bravery is what happens when you're in a situation with NO options.

It's three days later now and the site of the injections is sore as hell....but...yesterday I had an entirely pain free day, the first in about 2 years. I can tell I'm better . I can tell this next season in Mexico I'll be able to do the things I love.....Thank You sooo much Dr's Russo and Perry....if ya ever need a stress relieving boat trip with the chance of catching a slimey, I'm your guy !