It's been a while since I posted and I wanted to quickly share my experience with you all-
My surgery was April 7th at USC with Friedman and Giannotta. I cannot say enough good things about those two doctors and the importance of finding the best surgeons. In the beginning, I was scheduled for surgery at San Antonio Military Medical Center (husband is active duty) and I wanted to trust the doctors and facility here. The more I read, and the more people stressed the importance of finding the best, the more scared I became. I called family and learned that Friedman's patient navigator had her surgery with him years prior, and went to high school with my husband. Small world- we were instantly in touch with her and we ended up changing our insurance to Tricare Standard so I could have my surgery with Friedman/Giannotta.
Back to the surgery- April 7th I had translab and spent one night in ICU. I was very stiff the first night and just wanted to sit up because the hospital bed was so uncomfortable! I was sick and dizzy, but honestly not as dizzy as I thought I would be. It passed quickly and the morning of April 8th I was moved to a step down room. By that afternoon I was sitting up in a chair and walking. April 9th I was walking more and discharged by noon that day.
My husband and I stayed in Santa Monica until my post ops April 16th. We walked daily about 4-6 miles which felt so good! I noticed that busy streets bothered me, so walking in a quieter area was not as tiring. My post ops went well, and honestly, I almost hated to leave the doctors. They were truly amazing.
Today at day 12 I feel pretty good. I still have facial weakness, but it is getting better each day. Today my eye blinks in sync with the other. I feel like a bobble head, but I know that will get better. My biggest complaint is probably my face, but I was told it will come back. I feel having weak facial muscles for a little while is a small price to pay for having the tumor completely gone. I feel so relieved to have the surgery behind me and be tumor free.
I'm due to go back to work May 18, and more than likely I will. It may be a challenge adjusting to a class of 22 kids after surgery, but I think I will be OK. I do have a sub on stand by for me if I just want to come back in the afternoons instead of starting back full days. At that point in the year there are only 3 weeks of school left, so at least there is an end in sight, and I can spend the summer adjusting to being deaf in one ear. Right now, the hardest is not being able to work out like I want. The walking helps tremendously though, and I am OK doing just that the next few weeks. The deafness surprisingly does not bother me like I thought it would. Makes me think my body had compensated quite a bit before the surgery.
Everyone recovers so differently from this type of surgery. If you're stalking this page like I did once I was diagnosed, the most important thing is to find a treatment plan that you feel will work best for you and find the best doctors to help you and support you.
