When I first was diagnosed, I read every thread on this board, and told myself I would post once a year, good or bad, just so others have something to compare. Others have done this, and it seemed helpful to me.
3 years ago Saturday, had the retrosigmoid on the right side on a sticky acoustic that had wrapped around my brain stem. (They hadn't seen that on the scan).
8 hours surgery - Fort Worth - Dr. Thomas Ellis
SSD
How I feel today:
1) I am back to full activities - which is anything - I coach football, play basketball, drive a race car, ride a bike, ect.
2) Wonky if I do not keep active. A lazy day on the sofa makes me pay.
3) Severe neck issues - as the cut had to be down in the shoulder to get to it. Lots of neck rehab, massages, ect. Really this is my most problematic issue.
4) Hearing is gone on the right side of course. It sucks. I have to carry ear plugs with me when I go to noisy places because it's overwhelming and I get headaches. I put in a plug, I am ok. I have to position myself to hear people in conference rooms, and people have talked to me, and I never heard them. Usually, I just apologize and say I have a bum ear.
5) Tinnitus in the dead ear. Really? Come on, that should be illegal!
All these are things I just manage. Not great, but better than the alternative. A fellow co-worker had similar issues, and it turned out to be the bad kind, and we lost him in 9 months. When I get down about things, I think of how he would trade with me in a second and I re calibrate.
Thankful I am still in the game, and will deal with the new me.
