This Wednesday will be 12 weeks since translab surgery at House for a 4.1 cm AN pushing on my brain stem. It has been over 6 weeks since my last update on my CaringBridge site, and I'm sure some thought I'd had a major medical setback or had otherwise fallen off the face of the earth.
Starting back to work has been about all I could accomplish in the last 6 weeks. I'm so glad that of my first 4 full-time weeks, 3 of them were 4-day weeks (read: I am ecstatic to have today off. It's probably the only reason that I'm writing an update at all, so perhaps my next update will be around President's Day ; )
I have needed 3 days off to rebuild stamina and enthusiasm for the next 4, so it was a progress milestone when last Monday after work, I was able to write our Christmas thank you notes. I was excited to have a little energy left after a work day.
Here are some additional progress milestones from the past 6 weeks:
* I no longer need to drink through a straw.
* The vibrating alarm clock is working. Unfortunately, when it wakes me each morning, I could truly sleep an hour or two longer. At the end of the day, though I'm tired, I am not tired enough to go to bed early or fall asleep quickly when I do. Even generic Ambien doesn't help. Maybe I need to exercise more or longer. I would love to see more and quicker improvement in energy level and quality of sleep, but it's gradual...
[I try to remember that I used to need a nap at first and later a sit-down rest after a shower, and I haven't needed either for quite a while. If I don't deliberately compare back, I will underestimate my progress. And recovery is happening--slowly, but surely.]
* My right eye now tries to blink along with my left, but it really just flutters a tiny bit. Still, the fact that it flutters
every time my left eye blinks is huge to me. It is facial nerve progress that I am not at all making light of, just noting that it does get tired by the end of the day, and my husband still tapes my eye every night.
* The muscles on the right side of my nose started miniscule movements 5 weeks ago today. As time progresses, the muscle movement becomes noticeable enough that anyone (not just my husband or me) can see it, and I can now even lift the top of my lip a bit! I can
almost sneer. Not that I want to convey that emotion; again, I am simply sharing facial nerve progress.
* The muscles at the right corner of my mouth have started miniscule movements. I hope at my next update to have a mouth muscle update similar to the bullet above.
If you would like to read my detailed 5 week post-surgery update, I wrote it for anyone facing translab that had similar questions to mine pre-surgery:
http://www.anausa.org/smf/index.php?topic=16325.0;topicseenIn addition to sharing milestones, I would like to share two amusing quips from my dear husband:
1. In LA when I was commenting about the possible cost of the surgery and noting that my brain could soon be worth more than our house, my wise and loving husband replied, “Always was.†Love that man--he's funny, insightful, and knows just what to say to a woman.
2. He has had a tough and lingering cold for several weeks now. Since I am not ready for travel, we have spent those weeks in the same small house and slept in the same small bed the entire time, which prompted him to ask me, “How come you aren't sick? Except for the occasional brain tumor, you don't get sick.†Perhaps God feels I have enough fatigue to deal with as it is; not sure, but I do hope and believe the brain tumor
was occasional and not a recurring theme.
Best regards,
Victoria
