Surgery March 7th House My Experience

[mindyandy]

Thanks Lisa for asking. I don't mind answering questions. I know I was full of them. When I met with Dr. Schwartz and Friedman we agreed that since I had CK done 4 years ago that they can either go in aggressive and remove the tumor which he said would result in hearing loss since I have perfect hearing he didnt want to do this. Dr. Schwartz looked over my scans from 2007 to present and said it was not growing. He believe radiation triggered it to aggrevate the trigeminal nerve. He said he sees the tumor on the nerve and can relieve my pain. This was the ultimate goal. I agreed. He said revoval of the tumor after radiation would make my hearing nerve crumble. I opted to save my hearing. He does not belive that it will grow. He has removed 1000's of AN's and he said hearing is a very touchy nerve. His bedside manner is not the best but he is very knowledgeable and very good. I trust him. I did wake up dizzy. Not as bad as I had thought but anastesia makes me very sick so I expected it. I am dizzy still since my left side did not compensate yet. Its not nausea dizzy or anything but just off balance. When my head turns or when I go too fast. My AN was located close to my trigeminal nerve and on my hearing nerve. My hearing is good which is weird. He said my facial nerve and my trigeminal nerve were close but my facial nerve is fine.
Let me know if you have more questions. I will try to answer them.

I know you did not have a good impression with House but I do not regret my decision. I was very pleased. I know the hospital is not in a good neighborhood but my care was great.

Mindy

[pjb]

Thanks Lisa for asking. I don't mind answering questions. I know I was full of them. When I met with Dr. Schwartz and Friedman we agreed that since I had CK done 4 years ago that they can either go in aggressive and remove the tumor which he said would result in hearing loss since I have perfect hearing he didnt want to do this. Dr. Schwartz looked over my scans from 2007 to present and said it was not growing. He believe radiation triggered it to aggrevate the trigeminal nerve. He said he sees the tumor on the nerve and can relieve my pain. This was the ultimate goal. I agreed. He said revoval of the tumor after radiation would make my hearing nerve crumble. I opted to save my hearing. He does not belive that it will grow. He has removed 1000's of AN's and he said hearing is a very touchy nerve. His bedside manner is not the best but he is very knowledgeable and very good. I trust him. I did wake up dizzy. Not as bad as I had thought but anastesia makes me very sick so I expected it. I am dizzy still since my left side did not compensate yet. Its not nausea dizzy or anything but just off balance. When my head turns or when I go too fast. My AN was located close to my trigeminal nerve and on my hearing nerve. My hearing is good which is weird. He said my facial nerve and my trigeminal nerve were close but my facial nerve is fine.
Let me know if you have more questions. I will try to answer them.

I know you did not have a good impression with House but I do not regret my decision. I was very pleased. I know the hospital is not in a good neighborhood but my care was great.

Mindy

Hi, Mindy did you get a script to go for Vestibular Therapy I am sure that will help you with the dizziness I was told to keep doing it to strengthen it..If not go on the website and do the basic routine they have listed there might help you as well..

Best Wishes,

[mindyandy]

No I didn't get vestibular therapy. I guess I'm stubborn. Archer....I am not able to PM you back. Says error. I have tried. I will keep trying. I see you have decided to go ahead. The St Vincet rooms after ICU are very small. My husband did stay a night on a chair/recliner which was not comfy but it was useful. I did see others that had more family in their rooms. I have to say it was not big enough for a whole lot of people. I'm not sure if you have more family if they give you a bigger room. I would ask. Seton Hall I believe can sleep 4. 2 in the bed and 2 on the hideacouch. If you need more room I would ask. It was just me and my husband so I did not need much room. It is great to have family there for support, however I can see them being bored. LOL i will keep trying my messages to see if I can respond.

[Archer]

Thanks Mindy.  My message board isn't working.  I see there is a message in there but can't see new or old messages.  I sent a note to the admin so may work soon. 

Good information on the hospital rooms and Seton.  I appreciate it.  After I get out of the hospital we'll be staying with my wife's family.  Only about 30 minutes from the hospital.  Pretty convenient.  I hope to be able to walk along the beach for exercise if I am up to it.  At least we'll be in familiar surroundings for the week following.

Hope you're feeling better each day and thanks again.

[mindyandy]

Your welcome Archer. Keep me posted as the day gets closer. I had wonderful care. The ICU nurses were angels. Kiki I believe was her name. She was my day nurse. Wonderful. The lady who was my night nurse I'm not sure her name. She was awsome. i remember her washing me and changing my bedding and feeding me ice chips etc. I felt pampered. I felt nauseous but she made me feel comfortable.

[lizzie1hoops]

Mindy, I'm glad to hear you were so well taken care of.  Is the dizziness getting any better?  Keep us posted on how you are!

I'm more than 2 months post-op now and doing well.  I was planning to post an update, but was stubbornly waiting until I could say something like "I'm back to skiing" rather than "I'm back at work" - but I should be grateful

All the best,
Liz

[rvb755]

Mindy, I hope your recovery continues to go well.  I so enjoyed reading your description of your experience at House and St. Vincents.  It really brought back memories - especially the ICU nurses.  I am forever indebted to them for the care and kindness.

Rick

[Mei Mei]

Mindy,
Thank you for your detailed description of your surgery.   It's a long road and you are doing fine.   I felt badly that you were so nervous and was glad the doctors gave you something for it.   They say your state of mind plays a large role in your recovery so take deep breaths and take time to rest and meditate choosing a favorite image.    Mine is the ocean and looking out over it with the sun shining on the water.   Time by yourself everyday to just lay down with an eye bag over your eyes and taking slow deep breaths is time well spent.   We need it especially in times like these.
Mei Mei

[mindyandy]

I want to thank everybody for being so supportive. I got thru the anxiety of surgery thanks to all of you. I do want everyone to know if they have questions please ask. I tried to give details. I'm not very good at putting it all down so if there are questions please ask. I am very thankful for Dr. Friedman and Schwartz. I actually was afraid of Dr. Schwartz because from what others say he has no bedside manner and he is brutually honest. Well being he is the neurosurgeon THE MAIN GUY I didnt care about his bedside manner. I wanted to know how knowledgeable and experienced he is. When I met him he looked at all my scans before he sat down with me. When he came to meet me he sat down and we talked. He said he did not see any growth. I asked about the trigeminal nerve and if he saw it touching it. He shook his head yes as I was asking. It was like he knew what I was going to ask. He came across confident and very very smart. I highly respect what this man does.