My thanks to everyone for their expressions of support. I meant to have posted sooner, but I have been more exhausted than I expected (although I didn’t honestly know what to expect). The pain medication I’m on (oxycodone) tends to make me very sleepy; and by the time the sleepiness wears off, I’m not much in the mood for working at the computer.
My neck muscles are still weak from having spent 6 days of not having to support my big head. I think they atrophied a bit. So after about 15 – 20 minutes at the computer, I have to stop and take a rest. It’s taken me 2 days to type this whole message.
For those who are interested, here is a brief summary of my experience:
I was admitted to the hospital early Thursday (3/9/06). The surgery lasted 11 hours. I spent that night in the recovery ward because there were no empty beds in the neurosurgery ICU. The AN was removed from the right side, and the surgeons were concerned because I couldn’t raise my left arm after I was brought out of anesthesia. Thursday and/or Friday night (it’s all kind of a blur to me) they ran a cat-scan and an MRI to make sure there was no nerve damage to my arm. I was slowly able to regain full usage of the left arm; the temporary paralysis was most likely due to the fact that I had lain on my left side for 11 hours.
I spent Friday and Saturday in the neurosurgery ICU. I found it impossible to get any rest there because they’ve got you hooked up to so many monitors, and compressors, and oxygen tubes, and IV ports, and I don’t know what else. Every time I moved, it would throw off one of the sensors and an alarm would sound. It’s like trying to take a nap with someone standing next to you ready to yell in your ear the second you fall asleep.
At the stroke of midnight Saturday they transferred me to a semi-private general room. On Sunday evening, I was told that I had been scheduled to have a gold eye-weight surgically inserted on the following day. I was therefore not allowed any liquids or solids after midnight Sunday. Turns out that the procedure couldn’t be scheduled until 7pm Monday. So, needless to say, by Monday evening I was pretty uncomfortable.
I was released around noon on Wednesday 3/15/06.
My surgeon told me that they were able to remove the entire tumor. It turned out to be closer to my brain stem than they had thought it would be. The right facial nerve was severed during surgery. The nerve was sutured back into position, and the surgeon believes my prospects are good that a portion of the nerve will regenerate itself after a number of months.
There’s so much more that I feel I could keep writing for days. I’ve been amazed by the depth of generosity and compassion shown to me by my family and friends. Some of you have read the messages my wife has posted. For anyone that must go through this, I could wish no greater fortune for you than that you would have someone as supportive and loving as she has been for me.
Thank you again for thoughts and prayers.
