A whole new me?

I am scheduled! I have a surgery date now.  Well, dates, actually; it takes more than one operation to get this DBS system up and working.  My pre-op appointment which includes an MRI and an EKG as I understand it, will be on January 15th.  On the 24th of January, I get my head shaved and several metal pieces screwed into my skull.  These "fiducials" will guide the surgeon in finding the appropriate area of my brain to install the electrodes.  After they are installed, it's back to the lab for a CAT scan.  This CAT scan image will be combined with the MRI image to provide a brain "map" for the surgeon with everything lined up with the fiducials.  They will send me home that night with a turban of gauze, and when I come back the next day, (OFF medication) the real fun begins.  Holes will be drilled, electrodes will be implanted, fiducials removed.  I will have to spend a night or two in the hospital, then I can go home for a few days before the next stage; implantation of the stimulator control box in my chest and connection of the electrode wires to it.  There will be a break for a few weeks, and then the magic moment: they will turn the stimulator on, and I will get to begin my new life.

I can hardly wait! It sounds like a lot of discomfort and inconvenience to go through, but if I can cut down on the meds and feel better through the day without the fluctuations, it will be COMPLETELY worth it....