I wanted to put this out there in the hopes it will ease a little anxiety for someone yet to undergo treatment for AN. I know full well that my recovery could have easily gone the other way and I might not have had such a good report to give. I know there are others who did everything right, and wound up with complications regardless. For them I am reluctant to report on my success, as they deserved a good outcome just as anyone with the bad luck to get a AN does. I know that the science and treatment are only getting better and I owe much of my good result to those who have gone before me. God bless them.
I was diagnosed with 2.4 cm around the 1st of Nov 2013. In the following four months I researched and visited various Neurosurgeons and made the choice to go with surgery. I had already lost 90% of the hearing in my right ear so preserving the remainder was not a real consideration as compared with just taking the safest approach. I left that in the Dr's hands as they are the experts. Still not 100% sure which approach I got, they did sever the hearing nerve, but it was the safest in all other regards so that's what we went with.
I'm not going to pretend the surgery was any fun, or the night in the ICU. The four days following in the step-down unit was about as good as could be expected. The Neuroscience Unit at Duke Raleigh was first rate in every regard. Nursing staff outstanding. I went into surgery on a Tuesday at 6 AM and was on my way home on Sunday afternoon. The second night home I had a serious headache that I had to go to the local ER for. They did a CT scan of my brain to rule out a bleed or anything specific. All looked good so they put IV drugs in me and it went away. Since that next day, every day has been better than the prior day. Yesterday was the two week mark and I was actually able to go in to work for a few hours. Taking it real easy, but I'm back at it.
Recovery of my sense of balance came fast. Walk, Walk, Walk. That worked for me. My wife is a RN and was there for me every step of the way. She has been a godsend and deserves a lot of the credit for my recovery. There is still a slight blurriness in my right eye, but it improves daily. Still a little dizziness but not too bad. The pain only lessens with each day. It's not so bad that I have to take anything for it. More of a discomfort at this point. All in all, the nights were the worst part. Just couldn't find a comfortable position, until yesterday. I finally got some sound sleep and woke up refreshed!
So here I am today, 15 days post op, and again I got in a few hours at the office today. The best advice I got going into this was to go with a Dr that has lots of current experience and has a low complications rate. To that end, I was lucky enough to discover Dr. Fukushima and Dr. Cunningham both working out of Duke Raleigh Hospital. Huge experience, and huge success rates. Both extremely confident, competent, and comforting. Dr Fukushima - 1,800 + or - and Dr Cunningham 500 + or -, both with great success rates. Both also really nice guys.
The best advice I can give; do all you can between your diagnosis and your treatment to get yourself as healthy as you can be. Eat well, get exercise, don't smoke or drink. Stack the deck in your favor going into it. Your odds for a good outcome are certainly improved. Everyone's level of health and fitness is different, so do what is right for you, keeping in mind that you're going to want every advantage on your side.
One plus to all this is that my tinnitus is about half of what it was before surgery. I have a follow-up appointment at the one month point where I hope I will get a clean bill of health. They installed the post for my BAHA 4 during the surgery so at least I won't have to worry about that. I am anxious to get the processor fitted in three months. Maybe then I can understand what they are saying on TV.
Here's hoping and praying for your good outcome,
C. McKernan
