The unfounded fears of invalidity...
3 years ago at the beginning of December, my cybernetic components were fully integrated into my bio-neural systems. The installation process was drawn out over 2 surgeries and a 6 month recovery. It was also difficult and rather painful, but ultimately a success to my satisfaction; though many only see wheels and sticks and believe it otherwise. But it wasn’t for them that I did this - I did it for me: for the life I want, and for my nearest and dearest to not live with pain too. My world fluctuated drastically in these 3 years - for better and worse - but I would pay that price all over again for everything I have today. Even the unexpected surprises and dips in the road along the way.
For over 3 months now, I have noticed a distinct drop in the neurostimulation and more of those inconvenient symptoms that I had forgotten were so severe. Having a good time, it seems, made me forget just how hard it used to be! It drained my own energy faster than I could recharge with enjoyable activities. Unlike my mental systems though, my neurostim is non-rechargable. Typical of many electronics, it started to malfunction just before the end of warranty (the IPG gave a 3-5 year lifespan guarantee and this started 2 years and 8 months old!). To be honest, getting that message telling me the battery was low was a huge relief! The CRPS wasn’t getting worse, I wasn’t on a slow and steady decline into the invalid camp. It wasn’t all insurmountable: I just needed a simple hardware upgrade. Solvable issues are much simpler to deal with!
