Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share my good news. Friday, Oct. 21st, marked my 7th week post-op. My local ENT allowed me to start back to work part time as tolerated. My first day back was on the 20th. I spent that day and the next just going through hundreds of emails on my computer. As a director/student advisor for two sites off campus for a private university, I am able to do quite a bit from my computer but I do long for the interaction with students, staff and faculty. Realistically I have accepted the fact I'm not up to the full-time rigor.
My local ENT has cautioned me to keep in mind the removal of my 3.2cm tumor involved major brain surgery and I need to ease back into things. The successful surgery, support from so many and the ability to have a restful few weeks have just been a blessing. While I do have a few lingering health issues, in the scheme of all of this, it's just been a miracle. I am trying to approach this with a combination of prayer, patience and a good deal of humor. In doing so, Cheryl has encouraged me to share a few proverbial spoofs I posted on my CaringBridge. Perhaps some of you pos-op ANers can relate to these:
• “Don’t judge a book by its cover†… but maybe by the font size until nystagmus, involuntary jerky eye movements, clear-up.
• “Love makes the world go round.†… So does nystagmus, tinnitus and other malfunctions of the optical and auditory systems.
• “Don’t look where you fall, but where you slipped.†Relevant advice from an African proverb.
• “Out of sight, out of mind†… may challenge my ear to find. (Just watch me try to find a ringing phone left out of site. I resemble a dog chasing its tail.)
• “Keep your mouth shut and your ears openâ€â€¦or in my case I better keep my eyes open too.
• “Speak when you are spoken to.†… I will try, but I’ll first have to make sure the phone is at my good ear.
• “Think before you speakâ€â€¦or walk…; multi-tasking is for the well balanced.
• “Turn the other cheek.†… Yep, I have to do this one to hear … or to tune someone out.
• “Two heads are better than one.†… Makes for better odds of having at least a pair of working ears available.
• “Things are not always as they seem.†…Just ask someone lacking a hearing nerve to walk in the dark. By all appearances s/he would not pass a sobriety test.
• “Easier said than done.†…Oh yea, how many times have I said this lately?!
• “Where there’s a will there’s a way.†… I found this out when trying to get out of a slippery hotel tub by myself shortly into my recovery.
• “Do as I say and not as I do.†… Yep, if everyone had the uncanny coordination I have developed we would be in a world of hurt.
• “Make hay while the sun shines.†…. While we have enjoyed much sunshine this fall season, breaking open a bale of hay for my horse in broad daylight and keeping myself vertical is challenging enough. After dark I’m not worth a darn at much of anything.
• “Better late than never.†… I sure hope so because things are taking me a lot longer than they used to.
• “Life is just a bowl of cherriesâ€â€¦ I prefer Reeses Pieces.
• “An apple a day…†I’m doing my best. Dipping them in caramel sure helps.
