diff --git a/scripts/stage3_worker.py b/scripts/stage3_worker.py
index 4bba4d0..0e802e0 100644
--- a/scripts/stage3_worker.py
+++ b/scripts/stage3_worker.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ HEARTBEAT_FILE = Path("/var/log/aaronai/stage3-heartbeat")
 RETRY_ATTEMPTS = 2
 POLL_INTERVAL = 5
 INGEST_TIMEOUT = 600
-WORKER_VERSION = "2.1"
+WORKER_VERSION = "2.2"
 
 # Match Stage 1 chunking parameters
 CHUNK_SIZE_WORDS = 500
@@ -73,10 +73,13 @@ def recover_wedge():
     Mirrors Stage 2's recover_wedge() for ollama. Requires passwordless sudo
     for `systemctl restart aaronai-graphiti.service` for the worker's user."""
     log.warning("Graphiti wedge detected — restarting sidecar")
-    subprocess.run(
-        ["sudo", "systemctl", "restart", "aaronai-graphiti.service"],
-        capture_output=True
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["/usr/bin/sudo", "/bin/systemctl", "restart", "aaronai-graphiti.service"],
+        capture_output=True, text=True
     )
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        log.error(f"Sidecar restart failed (rc={result.returncode}): stdout={result.stdout!r} stderr={result.stderr!r}")
+        return False
     # Sidecar needs longer than ollama for model loading (sentence-transformers
     # + BGE reranker + Graphiti library init)
     time.sleep(45)
@@ -256,8 +259,9 @@ def run():
                 if consecutive_failures >= 2:
                     log.warning("Multiple consecutive failures — checking for Graphiti wedge")
                     recovered = recover_wedge()
-                    if recovered:
-                        consecutive_failures = 0
+                    if not recovered:
+                        log.error("Wedge recovery failed — continuing anyway")
+                    consecutive_failures = 0
                 time.sleep(10)
             else:
                 consecutive_failures = 0