Hi!
I am coming up on the one year mark of diagnosis that has forever changed my life. It will be a year in one week of my very first MRI, the same MRI I thought I was getting to just put my mind at ease (as I was considered by many a hypochondriac).
It will be a year in two weeks that I read my own MRI results stating that I had "a large mass" on the left side of my blah, blah, blah, pushing into my brainstem. It was this day, that I also learned the word "vestibular schwanoma" or later called acoustic neuroma.
I was a healthy 35 year old mother of four boys...living a normal, little life. Upon diagnosis, my world was turned upside down in a matter of seconds. I was scared, mad, scared, furious, etc...
BUT...I made it through! Finding this forum was a blessing from God. I have been prayed for, supported by, counseled by complete strangers on this site. I will be forever thankful for this!
When a person goes through something like this it's hard for the outsider to be supportive..the ANA
is an invaluable resource!
I ended up having the translab. I ended up with left side facial paralysis. I had a nerve graft. I feel like I've been to hell and back..BUT, I made it! Am I the same person I was a year ago? NO! Do I look different, yes. Am I a stronger person? Yes! Do I still struggle with all of this? Yes, everyday! But..I'm still here! I still get to be a mom to my four boys. I'm still a teacher to 28 kindergartners. I'm still living life to the fullest.
I guess my message for whoever is reading this is....getting this diagnosis sucks! But in many, many ways it doesn't. I am still living the life I was given, just in a different way. There are so many worse things that could happen...and for many with an acoustic neuroma the only challenge you'll have is surgery and maybe hearing loss. I also have the facial problems, that statiscally, don't happen that much. Even so, I am living proof that its going to be ok in the end. Was this what I planned? NEVER, but, it's what happened. It'll be ok!
My advice to any new members to this group...research as much as you can. Read as many old and new posts on the ANA as you can and reach out to anyone who you choose, because the group of people on this forum are the most supportive people you will "talk" to! AND...take a deep breath and know everything will be ok! It may not turn out how you expect, but it's in Gods hands and that in itself is enough. It's taken me almost a year, and I still have my questions, but I've come a LONG way from day 1!
Thank you, thank you, thank you..to each and every one of you that has helped me throughout this past year!
Elizabeth
