Well folks I have surgery scheduled about 7 hours from now. They're going to cut out a neuroma in my stump & remove some of the scar tissue. I've been dealing with terrible phantom limb pain a little over a year now, we're hoping this helps it. An MRI 2 weeks ago showed the neuroma and it also showed my entire sciatic nerve on that side was lit up, which corresponds perfectly with what I've been saying about the pain all year long. Instead of putting me under I'm getting a spinal anesthetic which will make me completely numb from the waist down. Can't wait for that, plus if I'm awake I might be able to watch them digging around inside my stump. If the spinal doesn't work they'll have to put me under. I hope that doesn't happen because I hate the post-op wake up.

The next step after this is a spinal cord stimulator. For those unfamiliar, imagine a tens unit implanted in your abdomen with electrical leads running up & down your spinal cord. Even if this surgery does work, I'll probably still need the stimulator for my lower back and left ankle, but it made more sense to try and eliminate what's causing my primary pain complaint first.