My husband and I visited this site often when we found out he had an 2 x 2 cm accoustic neuroma on his left auditory nerve almost a year ago. I was pregnant and he was scared. We read about all the different experiences that everyone had and tried to cope with what lied ahead. Based on what many of you have said we prepared ourselves that the surgery may have some complications and that he may experience facial paralysis or drooping.
He had his surgery on September 23, 2005, two and a half months after our daughter was born. He was in surgery for 12 hours and the doctors said that partial facial paralysis was surely going to happen. However, while he was in recovery he was able to move his entire face completely and there were no complications. The surgery was a great success and even though my husband looked like he was in a fight with Mike Tyson was on his feet the next day and looking forward to going home a day later.
However, he was not out of the woods. The next night he was diagnosed with post-op meningitis and his world turned dark. He didn't want to move, talk or see light. His fever stayed around 102-104+ degrees. They treated him with Vancomycin and a cocktail of other drugs. Then he contracted VRE but that's another story. It was very scary and he stayed in the hospital for 18 days. But the doctor's seemed to finally get it under control.
After everything my husband endured, he was completely back to normal in two months. His doctor's gave him 6 months to regain his strength and to be on his feet but he has defied them. His scar is barely noticable and he can pretty much do everything he could before (except some martial arts combat...wife says "no, no!").
I wanted to write about our experience because it does have a happy ending. Its scary to face this unknown and everyone has a different experience. We prepared for the worse and were blessed with a wonderful outcome. I hope someone reads this and is assured that all can be well.
