Hi everyone,
Thanks for the well wishes you posted after my hubby's quick little update. Poor guy, I didn't prearrange him to update anything. That was done last minute sitting at my hospital bed, by memory (mine) on his little iPhone. Just thought if there was some quick way to let you all know I was O.K., that we should do it.
So that was last Tuesday, May 26th. The date was up in the air for a while, for fear of getting bumped. The day before, I finally got my call that it was 100% mine and we were moving forward. Super great news. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it, but I managed to go out that night and play my last game of soccer for a very long time. It was a SUPER GREAT distraction, and killed off several hours that would have just been spent stressing out. Can't think of a better way to spend the night before surgery!
Surgery was uneventful. They estimated about 8 hours, and it took just about that (maybe 8 1/2 hrs?) I had the Retrosigmoid approach done. When they came out, they told my hubby that it went well, they felt like they got it all, they were able to preserve my facial nerve, and they just weren't sure about my hearing. I was warned I only had about a 25% chance of keeping any hearing, and that even if I did-it would be much less. I had pretty much written off hearing at that point (which is a shame, since my last hearing test showed ABOVE NORMAL hearing! Especially amazing, considering it was only the hearing loss that tipped us off to anything being wrong and prompted the MRI that got this ball rolling. It's truly amazing that I'm on the other side of this already......). So I don't remember much from the first night after surgery, but I do remember being awfully sore on the AN/surgery side, and not being able to rest my head at all on that side. My nurse kept asking me to try, but I was confused and told her that the bandages/head wrap were preventing me from doing so. I was SURE I had on some big turban type wrap. In the middle of the night, I reached up and touched along behind my ear-amazed (and confused) to find only a small gauze type bandage. There was no turban wrap at all. The only reason I was sure I had it is because I had absolutely NO hearing on that side. The silence messed me up, and made me feel like my ear was plugged with something. That was my first experience with not hearing. I shed a few tears at the loss of my hearing as that reality set in in the middle of my drugged up haze in the middle of the night, but quickly went back to the feeling of elation that my face was able to smile a huge symmetrical smile immediately upon waking up. I knew what a great sign that was.
Prior to surgery, I was having a lot of trouble with my Trigeminal Nerve. It was shocking me and causing extreme pain. The neurosurgeon told me that my tumor was quite extensively involved with this nerve, and as a result, I have a few minor complications that may or may not go away (I'm told). Exactly half of my face has pins and needles. It's like coming out of dental freezing, but never fully getting out. The sensation/touch is different. Half of my tongue is 'fat' feeling, and it extends back into the top of my throat a bit too. My teeth have no nerve sensation on that side either (can actually CHEW ice cream, which I could NEVER do before b/c of sensitivity). In addition, it appears that I don't produce any fluid on the left side of my face. No eye fluid (and reduced feeling on the left eye ball), and no nasal fluid either (always dry and cracked in there! Odd!). On the plus side (the very BIG plus side), I no longer have any Trigeminal pain AT ALL. Love that. I have no idea if these other things will go away over time, but they really are just a minor inconvenience in the big scheme of things. I CAN SMILE, CLOSE MY EYE, and get along otherwise perfectly! SO HAPPY!
As for my head........it feels SO FULL and filled with pressure. I would love a little pin prick to alieviate some of the pressure! LOL. My ear feels like it's been packed with cotton balls. How long does this full/tight feeling last? I'm SO ready for some relief!!
As for my ear.......would you believe some of my hearing has come back? Crazy. I realize it may not stay. But for now, I'm enjoying things 'in stereo'. It's significantly reduced hearing, but hey-I'll take what I can get. It would be WONDERFUL if it stuck around! Now......the new CONSTANT ringing in that ear.....I could definitely do without. YUCK! I never had any ringing before, this is all brand new. Is it possible that this could go away/be reduced after some more healing time? Or is this just a new reality?
As for my balance.......WOW. Would you believe NO difference from before the surgery? Truly, I believe it was DEAD prior to surgery and I had already compensated. I feel so great in this area, and can hardly believe I've escaped that side effect (hope I didn't just jinx it! LOL). I'm doing really well so far, and just went on a walk with my hubby for a few blocks tonight with no issues. Hope that continues!
So, I'm completely exhausted still (hence, the delay getting on here to tell you how I'm doing). I know, I know. Normal. Hopefully I'll start to see some improvements slowly. Tomorrow I go to the GP's to get my stitches taken out (they told me to, but it seems so early? 10 days after surgery.....). You would not believe what a fantastic job my team did on my incision! They barely shaved ANY hair, and the incision line is buried in my hair so well that once the stitches come out I could just walk down the street and NO ONE would know what I have just been through. Seriously, I need to figure out how to post pictures to share! Crazy!
I know I'll think of more things, but I guess that's good for now. Thanks for all of the support everyone! I'm happy!
Adrienne
