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What I Learned About Happiness from Acoustic Neuroma Surgery
Brian Bouchard
Since late November/December 2018, I felt something was seriously wrong with me, but I just couldn’t place it. In March, I told my wife Rebecca that I felt like I was dying. She asked what would make me say that. I told her that I couldn’t medically put my finger on why I would state such a drastic claim, but I just felt like my body was shutting down. She replied that we are all dying, but somehow I knew this was different. – Oh boy, were we about to find out how different!
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A Chance to "Pay Forward" After Two Surgeries
Clarice Dalton
In 2006, I began having unexplained falls, feeling disoriented, etc. I attributed these to becoming clumsy. My primary care doctor ordered an MRI. Due to a staff error in her office, it was ordered without contrast and the report was negative. The next step was seeing a balance specialist, which resulted in a diagnosis of labyrinthitis, an inflammation of the inner ear or the nerves that connect the inner ear to the brain. Prescription drugs did nothing to change my symptoms.
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The Benefits of Mutual Support
John-David Rusk
Quote – “I always feel encouraged and uplifted to talk to my fellow AN friends.”
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Getting Back in the Game
Kurtis Lau
While in college, I led an active lifestyle, working out, playing various sports, and participating in a baseball league. I was having some difficulty hearing certain words and a hearing test revealed mild hearing loss in my left ear. The doctor chalked this up to me working in a loud automobile factory — the job that supported me through school, and listening to loud music.
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Invisible Disability
Sally Stap
Brain surgery was the easy part. I slept through it. My altered life and “new normal” started the moment I awoke. Due to the practiced hands of two brain surgeons whose patience outweighed mine, I was recovering from a nine-hour craniotomy. My head was now tumor-free, but the long and difficult operation resulted in chronic post-craniotomy pain.
I didn’t recognize at the time that I was entering the “in-between.” I was stuck between who I had been and someone I didn’t know yet. Unknown to me, my personal path would lead to disability: an outcome that was “worse than some and better than others.”
