“Down low in the back. Around the tail bone was the worst,” said Betty Jones.

Shooting, stabbing pain.

“Just hurting in my back,” Jones said.

For Jones, it was unrelenting.

“Live just slowed down. It wasn’t worth living much, but you go on anyway with the pain,” said Jones.

Jones injured her back in a car accident 40 years ago.

“I was in the hospital. Had therapy. But I never got rid of the pain,” said Jones.

Not wanting to undergo surgery, she decided to try spinal cord stimulation, a treatment that sends electricity up and down the spine to mask the pain.

“We’re able to change that sensation into a more pleasant feeling,” said Dr. Roger Ng, an anesthesiologist.

A device some call a “pacemaker for pain” is inserted through the epidural space in the back of the spine. The wires sit on top of the spinal cord, changing pain messages sent to the brain.

“It’s been greatly effective for people who have chronic pain,” Ng said.

These wires are then connected to an implanted rechargeable battery.

The electrical pulses can be controlled by the patient to relieve the pain.

Six weeks later, Jones says her pain is more manageable.

“Compared to what it used to be, it’s nothing,” Jones said.

Now Jones is back to living life on her terms.

“If I want to go shopping, I go shopping. If I want to go out to eat, I go out to eat,” Jones said. “I can do whatever I want.”