Kathy M Update part II

[wendysig]

Kristin,
Thanks for the update on your mom -- what wonderful news!    As others have said the first couple of days after surgery are the toughest.   Please give her my best wishes and be sure to continue to update us.

Wendy

[Kathy M]

well, they are keeping her in icu overnight because she has some brain swelling! they said that is somewhat normal and even common with the size of her tumor. she is very coherent and, however very tired, alert. she wakes up whenever we come in for visiting hours. she is still in a lot of pain (headache mostly) and some nausea but not much at all.

we got to visit her at 11 and again at 4, and she ate some solid food! a little mac and cheese, chocolate pudding, milk, and mountain dew (upon request!).
she was free of all of the hookups (iv's, catheter, etc...) when we went in this morning, which was really good to see. she has gotten up to use the restroom a few times as well. after we were done feeding her, she said "whoa, that was work!"...so she still has that contagious sense of humor

her face is beautiful! if you didn't know her, you can't really tell that she has facial weakness...her eye completely closes and her smile is perfect (except for the slightest little drag in the corner of her mouth, but only noticeable because we know what to look for). the only bit of disappointing news is that she doesn't have hearing in the left ear. even the surgeon was disappointed when he found out. however, the ENT specialist came in when we were visiting and put a tuning fork next to her ear and she could hear it a little bit! so that could mean that MAYBE over time she will get some back? no one really knows.

i have one question though...she is experiencing double vision in her right eye, her left eye is fine! why is that? is that normal? that isn't the side that should be having issues, why is her right eye giving her trouble?

oh! and she is also getting a sound in her left ear, she said it's like the static on a tv...i asked if it was tinnitus and she said she doesn't think so...

more later! sorry so scattered, i just have a lot to say hehe.

-kristin

p.s. my mom asked if i had been posting! i said yes and that everyone was sending her lots of love, prayers, and good vibes

[JohnnyDiaz]

Glad to hear she is on the mend. As far as the double vision I can tell you that I had it right after surgery and then sort of a blurriness in one eye. My right hand shook a little bit and the surgeon said that was due to swelling. My AN was on the left ear so I also thought that was weird that it affected my right side. I had my checkup this monday and all those symptoms are gone. My understanding was that the steroids should help with that. Continued prayer for her and wonderful news that she is eating.

[lori67]

Kristin,

I had some weird sounds in my AN ear after my surgery too - they're kindof like the phantom limb pains you hear of people having after they have their leg amputated and they can still feel pain.  It went away and I don't have any problem anymore.  Every now and then I get some ringing, but usually it's only if I'm tired or if I've been in a really loud environment for too long. 

Sounds like the patient is doing well!  How great to hear she's up on her feet!  It's amazing what the body can go through, isn't it?  I found that getting up the first few times was awful, but after that, it just kept getting easier and easier.  I have a feeling she'll be running laps around the nurses station pretty soon!

I never had the double vision, so I can't help you with that one, but I hope that resolves soon.

Whatever you guys are doing seems to be working, so keep it up and you'll all be back home in no time!

Lori

[Pooter]

Thanks for another positive report.  That much solid food so soon after surgery is a great sign!  I don't think I had anything until about 3 days after and then it was only a couple of crackers.  It's good that she's starting to get up and around.  At first, a lot of things will be "alot of work" as her body heals and settles in.

I don't know for sure about the double-vision thing, but I suspect it has something to do with the brain swelling.  Others are right in that steroids (that she's already taking probably) should help that.  It likely will pass in a few days.

One thing you said struck me as odd.  You said when you went to visit her, she was off of everything in terms of "being hooked up", IV included.  I would have expected that they leave at least the IV in for giving medications, saline, etc the entire time she's in the hospital.  I didn't get mine taken out until about right before being discharged from the hospital (5 days later).  Perhaps the IV was still there, but just not hooked up to anything at the exact moment you went in?  That just struck me as odd, especially if they're giving her something for the swelling (probably intravenous steroids; at least I would expect).

It certainly sounds like she's moving along nicely and in very capable hands with both her drs and nurses as well as the support system of you and others.

I wish her continued healing and rest.

Regards,
Brian

[cindyj]

Yes, sounds like she's coming right along on the AN recovery schedule - ahead of some (I couldn't eat for several days and didn't talk to anyone really either).   The new/strange sounds in her ear should subside (mine did fairly quickly, leaving only the tinnitus).

Thanks for your updates! Hope today is another day of progress for her,

Cindy

[mimoore]

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!
Sweet dreams and sleep well.  Let your mother know we can't wait to hear from her.
Michelle 

[wendysig]

Kristin -
Thanks for another wonderful update on your mom.  It sounds like things are improviing by leaps and bounds.  I'm sorry to hear that her hearing is not good, but maybe that will improve too -- only time will tell.  In the meantime, I'm sending good vibes and healing thoughts her way.

Best wishes,
Wendy

[1cANAdian]

Hi Kristin,

Sounds like your mom is doing great!  On my second day out of surgery I was feeling, relatively speaking, a whole lot better and was starting to develop some hospital routines.  My most important part of the routine was watching the clock to see if it was close to mealtime.  Hey, I'm a guy!  Eating wasn't so simple and took a long time, but at least I had an excuse for having food hanging off my lower lip and chin. 

Hearing noises and the affected ear after surgery is not uncommon.  I heard noises in my AN ear (100% deaf though) right after surgery too.  Mine were all mechanical sounds - electric motors and diesel truck engines starting and revving up.  These went away after a couple days.  I also saw vivid swirling colors when my eyes were closed (one color at a time, and they seemed to change color with pain levels).  I kinda miss those, but not the noises.  Given that you mom could hear a tuning fork, perhaps her hearing will indeed come back.

I also have double vision in my right eye.  I had the standard double vision for the first 5 days due to the eyes not aligning correctly, but then I developed the odd problem of double vision in the one eye, and still have it.  If I close my good eye, I see two of everything, and the second image is about 25% as clear as the main one.  Is this similar to what your mom has?

The magic scarf was mailed to your mon between Christmas and New Years.  I sure hope it arrived in time.  I know it took a few weeks to get to me when mailed up to Canada from the US.  I attributed that to the Christmas rush.  If it is not there already, I should be arriving soon. 

Give your mom a big hug for me and wish her well.

Cheer!

Ken

[Kathy M]

aww, she will love getting the magic scarf! it hasn't come yet but i'm sure it will be here soon

oh, and brian i want to make a correction on my previous statement. she still has the iv in but nothing was hooked up to it when i visited her. she is getting her steroids and other fun meds through it. however she is taking some pills, i think they are percosets but i'm not sure.

she has been moved to a regular hospital room today, and she went for a walk with the physical therapist, she was really off balance but at least she was up and moving.

my dad, brother, and i went to visit her this evening and she said that she was in a lot of pain and very very nausious. she asked my brother and i to go back to the hotel. my dad is staying overnight with her and then i am taking morning shift. dr. tew came in to visit her and said that he is leaning towards sunday as her release date.

i'm nervous, i guess i thought that since she was having such a good morning that she would've had an equally good evening, but i know that's silly. after all, she did just have brain surgery! she is at least getting morphine every two hours. i hope she gets better through the night.

just thought i should update everyone, and thank you so so much for your feedback. you all are so helpful to me and my family whenever we have questions. i really care about all of you so much.

please keep responding, i look forward to checking your responses every evening!
lots of love,
kristin

[Kaybo]

kristen~
thanks for tlking time once again to let us know how things are going - I've been wondering all day how she was doing!  good luck tomorrow - I know you will do great and your mom is so glad you are there for her!

K

[texsooner]

Kristin, thanks for the update. I know she may not feel like it, but I believe it's important that your mom keep moving and walking as much as possible. I know she probably is a liittle unstable with the walking now, but this will get better as she does it more. Overall it sounds like your mom is doing great. Please tell her hello for me and I look forward to hearing from her. Take care

Patrick

[Cheryl R]

The morphine could be causing some of the nausea also.      It does in many patients.       Hopefully she is getting an anti-emetic also.                      Good to know some aspects are going well and it will get better in time.
                                           Cheryl R

[leapyrtwins]

Kristin -

I had horrible nausea for days and nothing they gave me made it go away.  I made the bad mistake of not eating because of it and that slowed down my progress.  Because I didn't eat, I was weak and didn't want to get up and walk like I should.  End result, I spent an additional day in the hospital.  So even though your mom is nauseaus, encourage her to keep her strength up by eating.  I've read a few times on this forum that peppermint often helps with nausea, so maybe try that.

I still had mild nausea when I was released from the hospital, but it eventually went away.

As far as the double vision goes, I had it for two or three days post op.  I don't recall it being in one eye, though.  Anytime I had both eyes open, I would see double.  If I closed my left eye (AN was on the left) then I could see normally out of my right eye.  Curiously I never closed my right eye, leaving the left one open - it just wasn't comfortable for me, so I didn't do it.

I had my IV, my catheter, and all my "tubes" removed by day two or three.  I told the docs that the only way I would get up to use the bathroom was to be "unhooked".  I got tired of calling the nurses or an aide every time I had to use the bathroom.  My neurosurgeon gave me his permission.  The nurse who removed my IV had a major attitude and told me that it should be left in, but I told her it wasn't her decision and if she had questions she could call my neurosurgeon.  That was the one and only time I had an issue with the nursing staff.

Tell your mom we're all thinking of her,

Jan

[sgerrard]

Hi Kristin,

Say hello to your mom for me - and for all of us, while you're at it. Sounds like she is doing well for day two; I think she will be feeling better by Sunday. You Ohio girls sure know how to take care of your own.

Steve