ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: schmidtkat on September 06, 2011, 04:47:22 pm
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Quick update: Surgery on Sept. 2 with House and Schwartz complete success. Removed all of tumor. 7 1/2 hours. Facial nerve preserved and rated better than a 1. Met Rick and his wife out here and Alex & his wife out here. Fantastic medical staff all the way around. So thankful for the ANA Discussion Forum. What a tremendous support system. Dismissed to Seton Hall this PM. Appts. on Thurs. If all goes well, headed home on the weekend.
Kathy
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Way to go, Kathy! Congratulations on a successful surgery. So glad you are back at Seton Hall today ..... what a comfortable place it was for us in May ..... we walked in the garden every day post-op ..... so soothing.
You will soon be home and continuing the recovery process.
Best wishes and many thoughts and prayers.
Clarice
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Kathy ~
Congratulations on your successful AN surgery at HEI! May your recovery be swift and complete...and thanks for allowing us to share the experience with you.
Jim
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Congrats, sounds like good outcomes.......best of luck for continued success with your recovery.
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Congrats from a House Alumni!! They do take good care of you there, just remember to listen to your body...rest rest rest and take your meds! And don't freak out if you can't sleep for a week or two from the steroids...that'll go away!! Take care and keep us updated!
Jay
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To my AN family,
Thank you so much for the support. This has just been a blessing to have each of you to lean on.
Great news! Had follow up appts. w/ Dr. House and Stefan. They are releasing me tomorrow to fly home to Iowa! What a sense of humor and uplifting parting comments they shared. Dr. House came in to the room and said...so when do we have your surgery scheduled... oh that's right we already did yours...you look great...how's it going. He had an assistant come in and reminded her I had a 3 cm AN removed 6 days ago. She too was amazed with my progress. Dr. Stefan entered the room with much the same delight...so...which side are we looking at? You look great! How's it going?
My husband has the arrangements made for us to fly back to Iowa tomorrow. Should arrive in the evening.
Couldn't be happier with the treatment and outcome. This has been an absolutely amazing experience with THE BEST in my opinion.
I'll post more when we get home.
All for now,
Kathy
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Woo Hoo, Kathy ......
Home is good!!! So glad you have done amazingly well ...... but, as you say, you had the best!
Let us know how the trip home goes. We upgraded to Coach Plus (or some term like that) on United for extra leg room and it was well worth it. I also religiously got up every 30 minutes and walked the length of the plane ..... think that helped, as well.
Continuing thoughts and prayers.
Clarice
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So wonderful to hear you are doing well and that the surgery went well. Have a great restful trip home, and it will feel so wonderful to be HOME!
Susie in Wyoming
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Hello everyone,
I'm back to Iowa. WOO HOO. THE HEI and St. Vincent Medical Teams were phenominal, but there's no place like home. We arrived about 8PM. Flights were great. Super nice weather. Had a wheel chair to get me through the initial check in stages and then walked the rest of the gates with the plane changes. Did get the disability upgrade to board first and so glad I did. We were able to sit right in the front. On the SW Airlines this means extra leg room, so I had plenty of room to stretch.
Plans to relax with the IA v ISU game on TV today. Didn't sleep through the night, but had significant period of rest. I'm guessing this may be the norm for a while with the steroids. Feeling great though. Adjusting to the SSD. My eyes are still twitchy so it makes for some interesting moves with my coordination. Asked my husband to pull out the kids' old night lights as I found getting up in the dark to be especially challenging last night. Just having to take it slow, as you all know. My biggest challenge right now will likely be the hurdles I create for myself (time and patience). I keep telling myself I just need to be selfish right now and rest. Easier said than done, but I truly do not want to overdo and have a setback. Things are progressing remarkably according to my drs. so I sure don't want to mess it up.
All for now and thanks again for your support. I speak of you all to my family and friends so often.
Kathy
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Hi Kathy .....
So glad you are home after an uneventful flight home from LA. It sounds like you continue on an excellent recovery path. You are so right that you need to stay in tune with your body and rest when you need it ...... even if only for a few minutes.
Getting out the night lights is a good move. Darkness remains a challenge for me, so I keep a nightlight in our travel bag so we always have one when away from home.
The insomnia is very normal on steroids. It should let up quickly when you finish the steroids.
The nystagmus (twitchy eyes) is also quite normal and should resolve soon.
Continuing thoughts and prayers.
Clarice