New to the forum

[Charlotte Lady]

Hi
I"m new to the forum.  I had surgery 9/25/07 for a 1.5cm NA on the right side.  I'm deaf on the right side. I have some small degree facial paralysis which showed up a week after I was home (two weeks after surgery).  Most vexing is the eye tearing a lot. 

About me...I'm in Charlotte, NC.  I work as an department manager in a major bookseller.  I am blessed and/or cursed with an inappropriate sense of humor. 

I and my coworkers spent the two months up to my surgery looking for bad haircuts for me post op.  The mug shots in Smokinggun.com were most "helpful".   That was so much easier to do that than thinking about what was going to happen.  It also prepared them I might have a unattractive hairstyle when I returned to work.  In reality, very little of my hair was cut.  I was almost disappointed... almost, mind you. 

I return to work next Monday 11/5, a little nervous.  In the middle of all the AN workup, I got a promotion.  So on top of the AN and SSD, I'm going to a new position.   It should be another challenging two months (the holiday season in retail in a new job).

Donna   

[Lorenzo]

One needs a great sense of humour, guaranteed. One colleague asked me once when we were having coffee, 'one lump or two?' I only drink black espresso. I think I eventually stopped laughing, can't remember how though. The best part? That was said without thinking too much about it. I'm seriosuly thinking of making a t-shirt out of that one, no disrespect to anybody.

[HeadCase2]

Hello Donna,
 Welcome to the forum.  I'm in the Raleigh, NC, area.  There are several people from NC on the Forum.  There is a local ANA chaper in Durham that meets quarterly.  And I heard that someone is starting a local ANA chapter in Charlotte as well.
 Hopefully your facial issues will continue to improve.  Having facial function imediately after surgery is good, it means that the nerve was not compromised by the surgery.  Perhaps post surgery swelling is a factor.  Some people on the Forum have reported post treatment tearing issues.  It seems that as the facial nerve heals, and new nerve hookups are made, that thngs can become cross connected.  It's not uncommon for people to report that they have excess tearing on the AN affected side while eating.  Or sometimes when you smile, the muscles around the eye on the AN side can tense up.  In some cases people seek physical therapy to help retrain facial muscles.
  With your sense of humor you should fit right in a round here.  Forum members often post humorous items in the "Good Morning" tread in the AN Community section.  Not everyone's cup of tea, but I find it entertaining.
  Good luck on your return to work.  And it's great to hear you're doing well.    Many report that they are extremely fatiqued when they first return to work, so try to take it easy.  For the first week after I returned to work I pretty much went to bed as soon as I got home.
Regards,
  Rob

[oHIo]

Charlotte Lady,
Welcome to the forum.  A sense of humor really does help.  I find myself laughing at things related to my AN that other people don't seem to find as humerous.  As someone considering surgery here in the near future, I'll have to check out the site for haircut suggestions.  

Good luck as you return to work and congratulations on your promotion.  The thought of working retail during the holidays makes my head spin.  (A little AN humor)
        

[Charlotte Lady]

Okay.  I'll admit it.  I am DYING to say "I need that like I need a hole in my he...oh never mind"

Donna

[Lorenzo]

that's an old one, need to come up with better than that! 

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Charlotte Lady:

Welcome to the forum.   

I'm pleased to learn that you had a successful surgery and seem to be recovering at a normal pace.  The eye tearing is a nuisance but probably no more so than 'dry eye', which is more common following AN surgery (I still have it, on occasion).  It should resolve, in time.  Post-op facial paralysis is also common, in varying degrees.  Fortunately, yours is mild.  Another post-op complication that should eventually resolve, as most post-op complications eventually do.  Well, most all.   

The fact that you're returning to work within 10 days of your surgery speaks well for your recovery.  You'll find the SSD is a challenge, especially in a work environment, but one that is surmountable.  I'm sure you'll do fine in your new position.  Let us know.

Jim

[4cm in Pacific Northwest]

Oh come on Lorenzo  … you are not laughing because you had “the zapâ€? vs “the hole in the headâ€? LOL. HUGS

I still think the post-craniotomy joke of “I need that like I need another hole in the head� is still hilarious …no matter how many times I read/hear it.

There must be some ole “zap� jokes out there with you radiated folks. Tease LOL In the USA, here, they don’t offer you coffee and tea with “one or two lumps� (just a to-go cup in this “fast food nation�) … however next time around my European friends and family and they ask me “One lump or two?� I am going to absolutely crack up … LOL

Charlotte Lady – sorry for the reason you joined us crazy lot… but welcome to the AN family. A book lover no doubt if you work in a bookstore … Retail business just before the holiday rush- oh-ya-ya  … However I am so glad another has joined us who has a sense of humoUr!

Lorenzo is working on a fabulous (top secret)    exquisite photography book that I am optimistic might be published here in the USA "if" he gets onto it …while he is visiting the Stanford experts (here in the “Excited Statesâ€?.) Even those Starbuck coffee-aholics may be found viewing it in one of those Barnes and Nobles (partnered with Starbucks of course) type stores.

Do you work in an independent bookstore or one of the big giant corporate franchise ones?
Did you ever see You’ve Got Mail?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You've_Got_Mail

I personally am a big fan of children’s books – particularly ones that are beautifully illustrated. The folks in the Barnes and Nobles (aka FOX books) children’s section need to work on reading more children’s literature – as they just are not as in-the-know as the dear lady who had to close down her small independent bookstore in the little town closest to us. (My children cried when our local book store closed)

Oh dear (sock in my mouth) you aren’t a B & N employee are you? (tease grin  )

If you had paralysis show up only days after surgery - chances are your facial palsy will resolve. I am at 10 weeks post op now and I and can close my eye now without the temporary eye weight (as of today!) … improvement happens however SO slowly. The eye watering (or lack of) makes reading books a pain – but it does improve. My face is still palsy – now they are saying 7- 9 months. I am an impatient  patient…

Welcome and Oh -be leery of the pirates on the ANA forum ship … they are weird, wacky …  (These will be the ones on the PBW ship sailing alongside on their own journey)

Laughter is what keeps one sane in this AN journey.HumoUr can be healthy if kept into persective.

Again welcome aboard the ANA journey ship!

4

[Charlotte Lady]

How about:  I'm turning a deaf ear to your request? or I'm listening with one ear? 

I do plan to tell my boss, the fastest talking man in the South, that since I have only one ear I can hear only half as fast

Oh and yes I work at B & N and I have seen You've Got Mail.  I loved it. 

Donna

[4cm in Pacific Northwest]

Very Punny!

My favorite book about getting society to read to children is this one

Aunt Chip & the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780399229435&z=y

Maybe pull it off the shelf during your break as you sip a starbucks.

SOOOOH are you a coffeaholic too?

4

[yardtick]

Yippee 4,

I'm so glad you glad you can close your eye.  You are too funny.  A girl after my own heart.  I'm a very impatient patient, myself.

Leave Lorenzo alone.....the only way to truly enjoy and appreciate an espresso coffee is to drink it black.  You know the saying girl.  Once you go black, you never go______ !!!  Try it some day.

You Got Mail is a great chick flick!!

Hey Charlotte Lady, can you get us any good deals on books?  I love to read.  Welcome by the way.  We are nutty, but lovable.

Anne Marie

[cheza]

Hi charlotte lady

Welcome, you've got to have your sence of humour or you'll end up thinking everything that everyone says is directed at you, when I'm talking to people about my AN I'm always saying things like "its always at the back of my mind" or "I can't get the thought of it out of my head" this is usually followed by a giggle and a "sorry bad pun"  at first, saying things like that mad me cringe but now I just see the funny side.
I'm having my surgery on 9th november so not long now I just hope I can keep my sence of humour going!
Take care I'm glad everything went well.

cheryl XxX

[sgerrard]

One colleague asked me once when we were having coffee, 'one lump or two?' I only drink black espresso.

 

Steve

[jb]

Hi Donna,
I live in Charlotte too!  Just wanted to wish you well and let you know there is a local ANA group here if you're interested. Well, we had one meeting during the summer anyway... not sure when the next one is.  It was my first time to be in a group and talk with people who actually know what the whole AN experience is like, so that was really helpful.  Hope there will be more to come.
Welcome and best wishes with your recovery,
Jay

[satman]

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW !
been waiting to use that one.