Hard to believe it was a year ago I was in the good hands of the skilled surgeons at Mayo. I just want to share some of the positive aspects of life post op that I've experienced. While life post AN is not all rosy & wonderful I am so appreciative of where I am today & try to stay focused on what I can do, not what was taken from me. Being a runner, I approached my surgery as I would a race, I needed to train for it & be in the best physical shape possible. I was diagnosed in Jan. & had surgery in May, that allowed me several months to "train" for life post op although I had no idea what that would entail. Not just physical preparation but mental preparation.
The tumor damaged the cochlear & vestibular nerve on the left side & stretched the facial nerve leaving weakness that I still deal with but see improvements each month. My balance came back quite quickly & I was biking & running quite soon afterwards, probably too quickly for my surgeons but I assured them I was careful. I've found that not hearing on one side isn't that bad, my husband & I have some very interesting conversations.
Since surgery my life has resumed it's normal active pace. I bike, I play tennis, I went downhill skiing in CO which was challenging but a doable & a blast. On Sunday I ran a marathon & qualified for Boston, what better way to one up the AN.
While I understand that not everyone who goes through this comes fro the same background I do want to convey the message of staying positive through whatever gets tossed your way. If there is one thing I learned from spending a week at Mayo, while I don't take what I went through lightly, seeing so many patients & their families who had far more serious issues to contend with made me very thankful that I would be going home, I can't say the same for others there. I'm not saying you need to run a marathon post op but try to stay positive & active. There's much to be said about the powerful effects of endorphins.
Many thanks to the good people on the ANA forum for their information & insight.
