Well, it’s about one month into my less-than-excellent adventure. I still may not have turned the corner on recovery from my surgery, but I do think I have at least hit the bottom.
I did hit a major milestone this week. I can actually read and have both eyes focus on the same page. One of the major post-surgery hassles has been severe double vision. I was really getting tired of being able to do nothing but watch TV all day long. I still have some lingering problems that are improving, and it’s damn frustrating to have to use a walker while my sense of balance comes back. I also haven’t been very eager to hold long phone conversations, since the left side of my mouth still feels like it’s halfway recovered from a large dose of Novocain.
For those who want the details, here’s a quick summary of the last month. I went in for the acoustic neuroma surgery on Wednesday, September 20. The retrosigmoid surgery took nine hours, and was successful in removing the tumor without doing any permanent damage to the other nerves in the neighborhood. Going in to the surgery, I knew that retaining my remaining useful left-side hearing was only a 50/50 proposition, and it looks like I lost the coin flip. I haven’t heard anything from the left side other than some unusual electrical noises, so I am now permanently deaf in the left ear.
After surgery, I spent two days in the ICU, which I guess is about standard for anyone who has their head cut open. I expected a number of post-surgical problems, but I don’t think I was prepared for the severity of the problems. My left eye-lid would not fully close, so it got taped shut so that the eyeball wouldn’t dry out. This wasn’t too much of a handicap, sine the left and right eyes were acting independently. What my right eye saw in its normal position, my left eye saw a couple of feet to the left and below. It has taken a full month for normal vision to return.
The second major problem is balance. Immediately after the surgery, I could barely sit up in bed without falling over. With a walker and some help from my wife and the physical therapists, I can now get around OK, but I still don’t balance well enough to walk without assistance.
The other post-surgery problems were my mouth and left hand. I have gotten to the point where I can drink from a glass and get most of the liquid into my mouth instead of down my face, like during the first couple of days. My left hand and arm started out very weak, but have now almost improved to the normal level of uselessness for a right-handed person.
After two days in the ICU, and three days in a regular hospital room, they sent me home on a Monday afternoon. I had been led to believe that the five days in the hospital would get me through the bad balance problem. Wrong assumption. I had a friend come to the house and install a pair of grab bars in the throne room, and added a grab bar and hand-held shower head so that I could take care of the basics with some assistance from my wife.
On Tuesday, I had an appointment with an eye doctor. While waiting in the office, I broke out in a cold sweat and passed out in a chair. My wife and her dad got me loaded back into the car, and took me back to the hospital emergency room. Of course, I was feeling OK by the time we got there. I got the full ER treatment. I think the only thing they may not have tested me for was beriberi. I got checked into the hospital for the night. By the next morning, the doctors concluded that they had no idea of what might have caused my fainting spell, and sent me home again.
On Thursday, I had another momentary fainting spell while in the shower. I just nodded off and leaned against the side of the stall. My wife started calling the doctors, who decided that I should see my regular physician, even though he had had no involvement in any of the recent activities. He ended up sending me back to the hospital for another CT scan, which was also negative.
Got to spend another day at home, interrupted by my first visit from the physical therapist.
I woke up on Saturday morning with a leaking head. This was two bad things at once. First, my head was leaking cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), which is usually not a good thing. Secondly, it was Saturday so my surgeon and the assisting neurosurgeon were both out of town. After finally getting routed to the hospital’s on-call neurosurgeon, I was directed to get back to the ER, and get checked in to the hospital. About all the hospital did was put some cotton gauze over the leak, and wait for my doctor to get back to town. When he did return on Sunday evening, the doctor decided that the original stitches were inadequate, and I needed to get another set of heavy duty stitches added to my incision.
First thing Monday morning, I was wheeled back to pre-op, and doped up for the new sutures. I spent all day Monday in the hospital, and got sent home Tuesday morning after my head passed the overnight leak test.
Since the final escape from the hospital, I’ve continued to see a number of doctors and therapist. The consensus is that all my problems will go away with a little more time and some therapy. The stitches have all been removed, and I’m done with the post-op medications.
I’ll provide another update in a couple of weeks. The temporary conditions all seem to be moving in the right direction, but recovery sure is slow.
Wayne
