We had to do two diagnostic test blocks before proceeding to the permanent ablation. Some kind of procedural requirement. After the first one, when the raging pain on the right side was gone for a while, I noticed the pain on the left side. Apparently, the other was drowning it out. So when I went back, he did both sides, and I spent a night and a day freer of pain than I can remember, or could have imagined was possible. I also slept much better. I hadn't fully realized how frequently I wake up and have to shift positions to try to relieve the pain in my neck. 

With both sides muted, I felt a strange pain in my shoulder, but it felt muscular: I think maybe I've had it clenched for 26 years.

The prospect of feeling this way permanently is exciting. And a little bit scary, which is weird. I guess it's similar to how people feel when they're getting out of prison after a long time, or leaving their beds after a very long illness.