It has been a long month of reading, researching, and deciding- but there is such a relief in having made some decisions and having a date on the calendar. I met with Dr. Tew on December 21st and felt very comfortable with him from the introductions. He reviewed my tumor (2 cm diameter and 9 cm long) and concluded that my two primary surgical options were sub-occipital or the trans lab approach. They retested my hearing this past week to see if there had been any changes over the past month and the results were still very favorable. After meeting with both Doctors Tew and Pensak the decision was made to schedule the sub-occipital surgery. I will undergo the procedure on January 26th.
Still feeling anxious- but I do feel comfortable with the procedure and the treatment team. I am, of course, still concerned about possible side-effects and how those could bear on my daily life and career. The inability to decipher friend or foe through the lack of bi-lateral hearing and wondering how this will effect my deployability/ military career.
Next step- get a bag packed for the hospital and see what comes next!
