Greetings from Kathleen!!!

[Kathleen5306]

Hi, everyone!  I am so excited to be the one reaching out to all of you directly with this update.  Although Maggie did a beautiful job and I am so grateful to her for keeping you all informed!  It is 72 hours after my surgery and I have been released to the Seton Hall Center for my next phase of recovery.  I feel fabulous.  We have come up with a good protocol to manage the head pain without making my too loopy.  My doctor's believe that part of my speedy recovery is that when I lost my hearing with the CyberKnife radiation treatment six years ago, I went through a year of terrible dizziness, vertigo and nausea.  During that year, I had to battle and adjust constantly to the side effects that most debilitate us AN patients after surgery.  The doctor's were all hoping that I had been through the worst of it before and that I would have less brain adjustment than most translab patients.  I think their speculation was correct.  My mission for the next 3-4 days is to sleep, sleep, sleep.  I will check in with the doctors periodically to see how things are going and hope to get my stitches out on Wednesday or Thursday of next week.  Since I am an "out of towner", they want me to stay in the LA area until at least next Saturday which is 10 days post-op to be sure I have no infection and no CSF leak.  I'll do whatever they want for my full recovery.

I know that in the operating room last Wednesday , it was filled with much more than my talented surgical team......I felt all the love, support, prayers and prior successes from my friends on the forum.  That support kept me comforted and confident.  I feel so endebted and endeared to the wonderful people I have met here who have guided me through my decisions with just unbiased and blind support.  I have talked to wonderful people on the phone who have calmed my nerves and helped me laugh at the things I cannot control.  I know this community changed my life, for the better.  I will continue to play a role in supporting others to try to give back a portion of what I feel I have gained.  So, thanks for all the notes, well wishes and light beams of support.  I know my job now is to rest, relax and recouperate.

Good luck to David with the MRI on Tuesday  (Hope to see you for a cup of coffee here at House!) and to Nancy for her surgery on Wednesday exactly one week after me with the same team. 

All the best,

Kathleen

[leapyrtwins]

Kathleen -

although Maggie did a great job, it's so nice to hear from you.

I'm relieved that you are doing so well! 

I think it would be great if you and David got to meet, but I have to say I'm a little confused about "Nancy" having surgery.  There is more than one Nancy on this forum and I'm not sure which Nancy you mean.  I checked the AN Calendar hoping to figure it out, but there is nothing scheduled.  Help me out here.

Thanks and keep up the great recovery!

Jan

[MAlegant]

Kathleen,
You sound great!    Your positive attitude will serve you well in the next few days.  Be well, and I wish you a speedy recovery.  By the way, nice to have an earthquake to mark the occasion!
Marci

[sgerrard]

Kathleen,

Welcome back, postie! Give Maggie our thanks, she did a great job updating. What you said about dealing with balance issues after CK, and not having to deal with them again this time, makes a lot of sense. I am also glad to see that in the event that radiation fails, Plan B - surgery - can work out so well.

I look forward to seeing you back the forum, but your recovery comes first. You are off to a great start. Take care and best wishes,

Steve

[wendysig]

Kathleen you're back!
It's great to hear from you in person.  Maggie did a great job of keeping everyone updated but it is wonderful to hear from you.  It sounds like you are doing really well and I am very glad to hear how upbeat you sound.  I have to agree that the people on this forum are just the best people you can find anywhere!  Wishing you a smooth recovrey,

Wendy

[mindyandy]

Kathleen I'm so glad to hear your doing well. Yes rest rest rest. I admire the courage from all of those whom under went surgery. Rest on girl and hope to hear from you soon. 

[NL]

Hi Kathleen,

It's so great to see you posting from the other side! It was so wonderful to hear your upbeat voice and reassuring words just 48 hours after your surgery! You have already begun to give back by showing such support to those of us who will "follow" you....and from your hospital bed!

Wishing you continued healing and a great stay in LA...with lots of naps!

Thanks for your good wishes,

Nancy L.


Jan - Sorry for the "Nancy" confusion - there are quite a few of us here. I haven't put anything on the calendar since I have not yet "officially" introduced myself. (Hello everyone!) And I don't want to hijack, but just want to say that it's great to have such a wonderful, supportive, and knowledgeable group of people to share this AN experience with!

[cindyj]

Great to hear from you directly, Kathleen, and sounds like you are doing well!  So glad! As Nancy L. (welcome to you, by the way) said, it is very encouraging to those who await their surgeries to hear good things from you.

Be sure to get your rest so your healing continues to go well,

Cindy

[leapyrtwins]

Hi, Nancy L -

thanks for clearing up that mystery for me.  I just went back and read your first post, I completely missed it, but I think I was on vacation at the time.

So, a belated welcome to you 

If you get a chance, can you put your surgery date on the AN Calendar? (link can be found at the bottom of Jim Scott's or sgerrard's signatures)  It really help us keep all the procedures straight and lets us know who's having treatment when.

Thanks,

Jan

[Syl]

Kathleen,

Welcome to postieland!!!And earthquake country.

It's wonderful seeing you in such good spirits. Keep it up and you will be home before you know it.

So will you need to wear a scarf? Or do you even care at this point about the bald spot? Maybe you still have your dressing?

I'll keep praying for you so you cn go home as planned.

Syl

[Debbi]

Hi Kathleen-

So glad to read your post!!  And, as everyone else has already said, welcome to postie land (although you were already an official postie having gone through the first treatment six years ago!)  I think someone suggested that if you've had both radio and mirco surgery, you're a "postie toastie?"  Whatever the case, welcome back, Kathleen!  You can't keep a good coach down - and you just proved that with great style.

Rest, my friend.

Debbi

[Omaschwannoma]

Kathleen,

Glad you are posting so soon, although this must drain your energy levels.  I am very happy you are on the road to wellness, even if it is a "slow" one as compared to the previous one, it is a good road none the less!  Welcome back! 

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Kathleen:

Welcome back!  So pleased to learn of your excellent post-op experiences, so far.  I trust you'll be back home soon.  Following doctor's orders is always a good idea, especially when they involve a lot of sleeping.     Please thank your friend and ours, Maggie, for her efforts. She did well and her posts were appreciated. 

You now join the exclusive ranks of those who have undergone both radiation and surgery and so are entitled to use the coveted appellation 'Postie-Toastie'.    O.K., it isn't really coveted - but it is fairly rare.   I wish you continued healing.

Jim   

[Pooter]

Kathleen it was great to hear from you (even tho Maggie did a great job with updates)!  I'm glad you are doing so well!  As many people know, at 72 hours I was in no shape to turn on a computer let alone post something here.  That's great!  As others have said, rest rest rest..  Get better soon.

Brian

[Kathleen5306]

So, I am an official "Postie-Toastie"!!!  Sounds like I need to find myself a jingle and launch a new product line.  I'll have to do a trademark search first, because I am pretty sure my three kids eat something that sounds like that for breakfast!  I wonder how many Postie-Toasties we have?

Everything continues in the right direction.  As we all know, the steroids keep the brain swelling down (which is good) but make sleep a little difficult (which is bad).  Today I will do some more PT for balance and for increased strength.  Just walking a little more and doing standing exercises against a wall with my eyes closed and open.  I need to keep reminding myself that everytime the room sways it is not the 5.4 richter scale earthquake I was greeted with upon my arrival to LA last week!  I will also get in plenty of sleep here at Seton Hall.  This is very conducisive to rest with the comfort of having the doctors right across the street.

The doctors feel that I have about 90% of my facial movement and feeling in tact.  That could improve in time, but I am not complaining.  I have had some issues with my right eye with dryness and decreased vision, but in time it could improve.  So, it sounds like I'll have to invest in a cheap pair of reading glasses.
The headache is manageable with staying on medicines.  I have a very keen sense when it is time for more Tylenol.

Now, on to really important questions!  How do you wash your hair?  What worked to keep the incision dry but to get rid of all the other junk?  Should I just go to an LA beauty salon and have them carefully wash away from the incision?  I tried the powdered stuff from the hospital, and it hasn't helped.  I'll do a search on the forum, but I know some of you get me answers before I get a search started.  I'll call the doctor's office this morning to be sure I can do something at 5 days post op, but you guys are always a creative source to go to as well.

Thanks!
Kathleen