Just wanted to give a brief update on my progress. Had my middle fossa surgery at HEI in LA with the mucho fabulous team of Drs. Friedman and Schwartz, on Jul 25. Discharged on day 4, flew home to Vermont yesterday. All of the tumor came out. I have a small bit of facial weakness that should fade--I can't really see it. My hearing is almost what it was pre surgery (14% below the other ear). Today was my last steroid dose THANK GOD because the hardest part continues to be the relentless insomnia in the wee hours. For me, I have only slept about 4 hours a night on this stuff. So, being simultaneously exhausted and wired is physically and psychologically confusing. I do take an attivan some nights just to try and slow the engines a bit. By and large, I am doing really, really well. I feel still wonky headed, but functionally can walk steadily most of the time. Still a bit tentative with big head movements. Still have the nasty avante garde chamber orchestra sawing away in my ear at night when I lie down but I don't notice it most of the day. I take a lot of short, slow walks, and am doing a gentle yoga practice every morning. Taking the doctor's order to not bend forward or exert myself to the point of any amount of strain absolutely seriously, because I never, ever want to develop a csf leak and have to go through the whole general anesthesia thing again. The incision is purty (I almost thing I should tattoo it purple...Dr F is a champion of women and shaved only the thinnest line so you have to hunt to see it). The incision in the belly not so pretty, but i understand it will flatten back over time. And, though I am waiting to crash once the half life of the steroids is done, and maybe then depression will hit like a ton of bricks, I am for now in really good spirits. The smartest thing I did was to gather as many sources of loving friend and family support around me through this whole thing, set up a caring bridge page, and then take everyone up on their offers to help when I came back. It's worth telling your story over and over to people, even if you think it is boring, because it feels like the best medicine to have all that love holding you up. So, if you are preparing for surgery, the advice I would give is to take the best possible care of your physical health leading up to the surgery. Eat well, rest, exercise, and make sure the people who love you know what is going to happen, and just how much their support and communication and love and feeding you will help you with your recovery.
Leslie
