Hello All,
New to the forum. I wanted to share my experience in a place where it might do the most good.
Diagnosed in late 2003 with a 6mm AN, proton beam radiosurgery March of 2004. Its grown to 11mm recently. Much of the usual, deafness, tinnitus, dizzines, headaches, occasional vertigo. I had a real hard time with the dizziness, often couldn't drive my car, stumbling, falling. Had a tough time with work...fortunately had a very understanding employer. Despite all the very boring balance PT exercises things didn't get all that much better. I thought I was stuck with being that way for good.
Then in the fall of 2007 my older brother gave me a standup paddle board to use as possible therapy. At first I thought there was no way it was going to work. I fell off every 30 seconds, but after about 3 months of stubborness it finally clicked. Then I made a new friend and we started discussing a charity event. At 1st I thought I would just help plan and pull it together....the idea after all was to paddle 28 miles across Cape Cod Bay to raise money and awareness to fight plastic pollution in the oceans. I didn't think there was any way I would be ready to participate.
http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org/My friend and my brother both encouraged me so I started training in all kinds of conditions. On August 9th I, along with my brother, my friend and 5 others made the 28 mile paddle in just over 7 hours. These days I commonly surf on 6'-8' waves and my favorite workout is to go out in a violent nor'easter with 6'-10' waves, 2'-3' chop, and 20-30 mph winds. I fall off in those conditions but not many wouldn't.
Along the way an amazing thing happened. Pushing my need for balance to extremes has made the normal possible. That's not to say that I don't still have bad days. But the good days outweigh the bad now by a good margin.
The best part about this is. I'm having more fun doing this than anything else I've ever done. The most fun is surfing, but even flatwater workouts are great. My wife and I really enjoy that part together (we bought her a board this past spring). They are being used to surf the worlds largest waves, whitewater on rivers, calm lakes....wherever there is water. People are using them for fishing and just sightseeing since you can see into the water so much better than a canoe or kayak. It can be both one of the most exciting things you've ever done or the most calming all depending on what you are doing. OH...and to top it all off. I'm in the best shape I've seen in 20 years. I'm 50 and feel like I'm 30...I've lost 40 pounds, while adding a bunch of muscle.
If anyone is interested I can certainly answer questions and help point you in the right direction. Boards and a paddle today are kind of pricey but the bang you get for the buck is hard to beat. Prices are coming down too as more affordable board manufacturing processes are being used and they are being made in larger numbers. There is also finally starting to be a used market developing.
I just recently started a blog
http://newenglandsup.wordpress.com/ you'll see a couple of my crazy nor'easter sessions in there as well as a surf session or two.
I hope maybe some of you might find this interesting. It's changed my life. A little over a year an a half ago I was an overweight balance challenged guy on a downward spiral and more than a little depressed over the direction things were headed. Here I am now in almost the best shape of my life with my spirit refreshed every time I come in off the water....life is good. Even the news that my little friend has grown a bit recently can't dampen my spirits for long.
Happy New Year.
