The alarm went off at 3:30 a.m.

It didn’t matter, because I had been awake since 1:18 a.m.

It was Tuesday, March 18, the day I was to have a surgical procedure done at the Mayo Hospital in Phoenix.

Nothing serious, just a battery replacement for the Deep Brain Stimulation generator in my chest.

The device in my chest sends the electronic signals to my brain. There are four wires connected to the device that separate into four more leads each. That gives me stimulation into 16 points within my brain. The generating device is powered by a replaceable battery.

The battery is supposed to last from three to five years. Mine lasted two and a half. I think it wore down more quickly, because I was changing the settings so often during the first year and a half. But in the last year, it has worked very well once I found a setting that worked for me.

I don’t have any more tremors, my head doesn’t turn from side to side, I’m told that my facial expression has lost that deep Parkinson stare and I can sit in a chair without falling out of it.

It’s funny, I didn’t realize my head turned so much until I spoke to the Parkinson’s Support Group and I watched a video of myself. I didn’t feel it turning from side to side at all.

You change the settings with another small device that has a digital display screen on one side.

The display screen shows the amount of voltage being used on the left and right sides of my brain. The settings I had been using were 3.2 on the left and 3.6 on the right.

When the battery runs low, the display screen starts flashing which mine started doing about two months ago. About a month ago the display screen when I checked my generator settings showed a doctor’s face rather than the setting numbers. It was time to replace the battery.

As I said, the surgery was set for the 18th. About two weeks prior, I had to undergo an exam and blood tests to determine if I was in good shape to have surgery.

Everything checked out and I met with the surgeon, Dr. Lyons, the day before the procedure.

He was the one who bored the holes in my head and installed the original generator in my chest.

The original installation was done in three surgeries. Now they are doing all three steps at once, a nurse told me prior to surgery.

The surgery consists of making a two and a half-inch long incision just below my left collar bone. The generator is disconnected from the lead wires, removed and inspected.

The battery is replaced and then the generator is reinserted into the chest, you are stitched up and then you wake up in the recovery area.

I’m told the entire procedure takes 30 to 45 minutes, and the recovery is about an hour’s time.

That makes sense because I was wheeled into the operating room at 7:20 a.m. and woke up at 8:50 a.m.

Well, I’m good again for another three to five years.

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It’s with a degree of difficulty that I write this closing part of my column. That’s because it’s bidding a fond farewell to Rino and Julie Ghetti.

Thursday, Julie joins Rino in retirement from the Town of Fountain Hills.

He retired in January as the longtime Events Coordinator at the Community Center.

She is the Deputy Town Manager/Finance Director.

In her 24 years of employment with the Town, Julie earned 19 consecutive awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting. She was honored for her service at her last Town Council meeting last week.

The couple is moving to the San Tan Valley. They will be missed.