Hi, Kathleen,
You have certainly had a journey with your AN, and I think your sense of humor and optimism are to be commended! I'm sure your positive attitude will be a real blessing as you continue your adventure.
I had trans-lab surgery at House in early January of this year -- recently observed my 6-month surgical anniversary and I am feeling just fine and dandy ... really. Drs. J.House, Schwartz, Wilkinson, and Stefan were my doctors and I adored all of them. I imagine you already have lots of information about the Seton Hall Guest Center, and I certainly recommend booking a room there. I think you'll find it comfortable, accommodating, and reassuringly adjacent to both St. Vincent's and the House Clinic! It was good to be around others in the same boat, and my husband and I both enjoyed our almost two-week stay there.
After reading so many of the stories on this forum, I'll say from the very outset that my experience was about as textbook as you can get, so that's the story I'll relate with great hope that your experience will be similar.
You'll probably spend the day prior to surgery meeting with your doctors and having the various standard pre-op tests and procedures done at the hospital. If your surgery is scheduled for early morning, you'll have to arrive in the admitting area around 5:30 a.m. Things will move quickly, professionally, and efficiently from that point on, and before you know it, you'll be on your little gurney ride into the operating room! If you're concerned about the haircut you'll get in pre-op, don't worry about it. I think we trans-labbers get the best deal in that category -- as well as the surgical scar! It will be slightly above your ear and will follow its curve -- not nearly as dramatic as the abdominal scar (and even that's not so bad in the whole scheme of things). The next thing you know, you'll be in the ICU recovery room, waking up to the sound of one of the doctors calling your name. Hopefully you will not experience any dizziness or nausea at this point. I did not, but I honestly do not know how typical this is. I think my AN, even though fairly small (about 1.3 or so cm.), had already pretty much zapped my balance nerve, along with much of my hearing, during its incredibly slow growth over a number of years. You'll stay in the ICU for about 24 hours; the staff members there were excellent and I felt quite comfortable during that period.
Next you'll go to your room on the 6th floor (all of them are singles); it will be considerably quieter and less hectic there than in ICU, so you can really start to rest up and regain your bearings. I had a good view of the "Hollywood" sign from my room, which was an unexpected bonus! You'll meet with your physical therapist and start the first of many walks around the floor. I was in the hospital room from Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon and, as in the ICU, found the staff to be very competent and responsive. I was able to start on a regular diet as soon as I got to my room and, as institutional food goes, it wasn't bad. I know that a lot of people have reported having a metallic taste in their mouth following the surgery -- I didn't experience that. I spent my time in the hospital sleeping a good bit, reading, watching television (the football playoffs -- prior to the Super Bowl -- were on TV that weekend, so it was fun to watch those games), and visiting with my husband.
I was released to our room at Seton Hall on Sunday afternoon. As chocolatetruff mentioned in the previous post, you'll need to have your prescriptions filled right away (I was surprised that the hospital didn't have a pharmacy for this purpose). My husband easily found a Walgreen's fairly close to the hospital (I believe it was on Wilshire Blvd.), so that wasn't a problem. I continued my regimen of sleeping/resting, reading, and watching some television during my stay at Seton. My husband brought our meals over from the hospital cafeteria and we would eat in the commons room on the hall. I believe I started walking over to the cafeteria with him on the second day, so that provided me with some needed exercise.
I had reserved tickets for a Tuesday taping of the quiz show, Jeopardy!, a few weeks earlier in hopes that I would feel well enough to attend. We had our doubts that it would work out, but I really wanted to give it a try. Sony Studios, in Culver City, is just about a 20-minute drive from the hospital, so we agreed that if I had second thoughts once we got there, we could quickly return to Seton. It indeed turned out to be an easy drive, with convenient parking and a reasonable walk -- which I took fairly slowly! -- from the parking garage to the studio. We had known that it would be the taping for the two final shows of the Teen Tournament and I hoped that if they had overbooked the seating (due to an influx of contestant family members) that I -- in my semi-bandaged state, with a slow gait and disheveled hair -- would look like someone whose dying wish was to attend a Jeopardy taping. Turned out there was ample seating, so we had a relaxing two-hour sit in the studio watching the taping. I did sleep late and rest up the next day at Seton, but it was a great outing, and I think it gave me a lot of confidence that I would indeed be fine!
We stayed at Seton the rest of the week (took a few more drives and saw some more area sights, but nothing strenuous!), saw all the doctors one more time, then had an uneventful flight from LAX back home to the East Coast. I was asked to give the Clinic a phone call one month after surgery -- which I did -- and I'll send them an MRI one year after my surgical date. I visited my New Jersey otolaryngologist a couple of months after returning home. Extreme fatigue was my only culprit after I got home, but I could discern a slow but steady improvement as time passed. At five months following surgery I felt pretty close to normal, and I think at six months I'm just about there.
I hope I haven't sounded way too cavalier about this entire process. I'm humbled by the excellent spirit and attitude shown by those posters who didn't bounce back very quickly and who may still be having some serious after-effects. There's no doubt that this is an extremely serious procedure, and I feel exceedingly fortunate and grateful that mine was pretty much a textbook case.
One final comment -- I had the BAHA implant at the time of my surgery (it adds about 30 or 45 minutes to the procedure) and am glad I did. Since my brain had adjusted so well to my virtual SSD prior to surgery I've had perhaps a different experience with my BAHA than those whose SSD was more sudden and/or recent. My brain is still in the "yet another adjustment" mode, but I'm quite happy with my progress.
Very best wishes as you undergo your surgery and recovery. You will be in excellent hands.
Catherine
