Renewed excitment after 7 weeks post op.

[waypoint]

Last night before my shower, I stood and looked at myself in the mirror trying to raise my eyebrows, twitch my nose, make a full smile, anything. I just wanted to see some form of improvement on my paralized left side. After what seemed like an eternity of empty results, there it was. It wasn't very much and it was barely noticeable. But I saw it. the muscle just above my left eyebrow moved/twitched.  At frst I thought maybe it was just my good side eyebrow just pulling the left side eyebrow up too. But there it was, I am positive. This was the first time since the surgery that I was able to move the muscle above my eyebrow voluntarily.  I know it wasn't much, in fact it was very small. It was more of a twitch.

I was so excited, that I have to call my wife to confirm that it wasn't just my imagination. Everything else is the same, still paralyzed. For those of you before me. About how long was it before your facial movement recovered after you start to see your first twitch. This to me was a big hurdle, and am now excited to see when the rest will come back.

Everyone should have a goal to get back to normal life. My love has always been fishing. My goal is to get back not only my health from AN, but also my balance and stamina. Getting on my boat and back out on the water is my goal.  I am fearful of all the difficulties associated with boating that I won't even attempt to try to tow or take the boat out yet until I am fully recovered. Thanks for listening.

[Dan]

From what my Drs. said it is great news that there is a twitch, it means the muscle is trying to move.  My first eyebrow twitch was three weeks after surgery and now at 8 weeks Post OP, I can raise my left eyebrow as high as the right side.  At about the same time I noticed I could raise the eyebrow my eyelide started blink slightly also, I can now close my eye almost completly and have even gone a full day without cream in my eye.  At night I still cream it and tape it but I can finally read now more than an hour without eye problems.  About two weeks ago I noticed the first twitch in the left corner of my mouth and I can now raise a smile about 1/4".  I still can't drink out of a bottle or very well out of a glass but its improving.  There are sometimes up to 5 days when I don't see any changes at all but I keep doing my exercises and hope for the best.    Good luck and when you get a chance to go fishing again, catch a big one for me.

                                                                                                  Dan in Germany

[Charlotte Lady]

Congrats!   

Although my paralysis was minimal compared to yours, it seems like it has healed from the top down.  My eye area was the first to become normal.  followed by nose.  I still have a little ways to go with the lower lip.

I wonder if others noticed the same sort of progression in recovery-top to bottom.

donna

[lori67]

After only 7 weeks, I'd be thrilled!  I am 9 months out, and didn't see my first twitch until almost 8 months.  I remember feeling so excited and running to my husband yelling "I moved!  I moved!"  Baby steps, I guess.  Things are slowly progressing and they'll get there eventually.  We just have to remember to keep working at it!

Now, as for that boat of yours - I see you are deaf on the left - I am deaf on the right - so maybe I should help you out with that.  I'll watch port - you take starboard.  I always said I needed a friend with a boat, anyway!

Here's to fair winds and following seas for all of us!
Lori   

[Captain Deb]

AAAARRRRRRRRRRR Way point!
Capt Deb here lurkin on ye to pillage and plunder that there lovely vessel of yours! Of course ye'l be back out on the water agin! I'll give ye the BIG SECRET ter how to do it. Go and invest in the SECRET BALANCE WEAPON to use against the dreaded wonkyhead. Its called the TREADMILL!!! It is the single best thing known to us ANers to retrain our semi-scooped out brains into thinking we can walk straight in a full gale again! Walk slow, walk fast, walk while doing head turns, walk while "finding targets," walk uphill, walk uphill backward, there is no END to the ways to challenge yourself on a treadmill and it has HANDLES so's ye can't fall over!

I had no room on me boat fer one so I joined the gym and went there every other day or so and got plenty of stares (who's the wacky wench in the boots and cutlass doing the bobblehead strutt over there on the treadmill ?)

If you can afford to buy your own and have the room, all the better.

My cabin Boy, Dr Love, loves to fish and dreams of having a boat like yours wiv me to drive it for him since I'm an old sea captain and all. I sez ye can fish off a sailboat but ye can't sail off a fishin boat.

Be well and Fish on!

Capt Deb

[waypoint]

It must be how the nerve branches out or something, but the top down recovery makes sense. Cause Lord knows I've tried to move my lips and nose without any success.  I am hopeful of improvements in time and am patient enough to wait no matter how long it takes.  We just got back this morning from my followup MRI to set a baseline. They gave me the MRI to bring into the Dr. next week.  I'm no doctor, but my peek at the MRI looked very good.  Good Luck to everyone here who must travel down this long road. Understand your not travelling alone.

[leapyrtwins]

Congratulations, Waypoint, it's great to hear you're making improvements! 

BTW, VERY nice boat!

Dan in Germany, it's good to hear that you're making progress also; I was wondering how you were doing.
Keep up the exercises, you'll see results in the long run.

Jan

[Jeanlea]

Congratulations, Waypoint!  I didn't have my first movement until 3 months.   My movement has continued to improve ever since.  Now at nearly 28 months post-op I can even smile again, even if it isn't perfect. 

What a nice boat.  You should be back out on before long.  At nearly a year post-op I was out on my dad's boat.  Didn't have any problems.  Since I'd been working on my balance for so long I had little problems with all of the big waves.  Where do you go fishing?

Jean

[lori67]

Well it just figures I would be the opposite of everyone else - I got my first flickers of movement around my upper lip.  Still nothing around my eye.  I can manage enough of a smile now that people can tell that I'm smiling now - just can't quite do any big toothy grins yet.

I guess I'm built upside down.  Oh well.  Nothing a trip on a nice boat wouldn't fix....I haven't tried out my sea-legs since the surgery, but maybe they might be better than they were before.  Maybe the movement of the boat might counteract my lack of balance.  I should probably wear a life jacket if I intend to put that theory to the test. 
Lori

[linnilue]

This is a Happy Thnaksgiving...I see that many of us are lining up for a few moments in recovery.  It's about time.  It's been a long year here.  Congratualtions, Holly

[sgerrard]

Nice boat. Very nice boat. I'm jealous...

Seems like a perfect boat to take out next spring. If you start polishing now, it should be in perfect condition by then. 

It is great to hear from Dan, too, who is a few weeks ahead of you on the recovery schedule, and who is now twitching his eyebrows around and smiling and getting closer every day to chugging a beer straight from the bottle. 

Best wishes, Steve