ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: carlita on July 28, 2008, 06:18:20 pm
-
Hi my name is carla and my friends call me carlita. I had an acoustic neuroma of 5cm, until the day of my surgery on march 26th of this year. After 15 hpurs of surgery, accidentally my neruosurgeon cut the facial nerve and left me with half of my face with no sensation or movement. Days after i had meningitis and almost a week after an arterie explote because of a blood clot. so had 3 surgeries in my head one on my eye lit because i couldnt fully close it, i also had a lumbar drenage twice cuz my body wasn't absorbing the spinal liquid and the most recently was the conection of my facial nerve with the hyploglossal. I stayed in the hospital for almost a month and a half, and in the ICU for two weeks succesfully now alive. So right now, i am just waiting for my smile to come back, and tears and taste, and able to chew with my other side of the mouth!
:(
-
Hi Carlita and welcome. My goodness.... you have been through a lot. I hope you find answers here... and can help support so many others that endure our AN journey. Please take care of yourself......
Good to have you here.
Again, welcome.
Phyl
-
Hi Carlita...
Very sorry to hear of your troubles, and glad they are in the past. I hope your recovery moves along and you find some help and support here.
Trish
-
Hi Carlita,
I'm so sorry for everything you've been thru. I'm so glad you found this site. I've had so many questions answered, and found people who've been thru similar things.
It's very helpful. I hope you find this to be true, too.
I had my AN surgery, then had to go back in the hospital after I was home 3 days, b/c I had a spinal fluid leak. Had to have more surgery done the next morning.
Nothing like you had to go thru, tho.
I'm learning that it will take us longer to heal. How are you feeling now, since it's been since March?
I hope and pray that you get all your facial muscle functions back and SOON!
Take care,
Lacey
-
Hi Carlita!
Sounds like we have a LOT in common - we're both from TEXAS and I was 25 when I had surgery for a "HUGE" tumor. I was only in surgery for 14 hours, so you beat me out by an hour!! :o) I would love to chat with you -send me a PM if you would like to chat on the phone!
Nice to meet ya!
K
-
Hey there Carlita,
Wow have you been through it! I hope the rest of your recovery goes smoothly and without any complications. I also hope that your smile returns, or at least gets closer. I'm just one week post op and the right side of my face is pretty numb so I can't chew on that side without chewing on myself and spilling food, not a pretty picture but very amusing for friends and family. Hang in there and use the support you will find on this wonderful forum.
Best,
Marci
-
Hello Carlita, Thanks for introducing yourself. We're all here for support when you need it. It's not so fun at time for sure, but we're in it together! I know it's tough but hang in there and try to stay strong, positive and hopeful. Things get better day by day. Francesco
-
Hi Carlita--
I'm sorry to hear how rough a road you have been on this year, and hope you are feeling much much better at this point.
My original AN was 5 cm, like yours (I just had a second surgery for its recurrence at the end of June), and like you I had the 7-12 anastomosis. It took me about 6 months to see results from that procedure, so although I can imagine how hard it is for you to sit tight at this point, you'll probably need to wait a bit longer. (I am very pleased with the results from my nerve graft; though my facial function will never be what it was before, it's far better than before and I'm pretty comfortable with it).
Good luck, and do let us know how you're doing!
Carrie
-
hi carlita,i live in dallas and i can relate to your experiance.
the good thing is the surgery is over,now the healing begins.
i know it's hard to hear but time and patience is what you must deal with now.
a pos attitude goes a long way.
-
Hi, Carlita and welcome.
I'm sorry to learn of your complications with AN surgery and can only say that I hope and pray you're firmly on the road to recovery.
Thanks so much for making your presence known. We like to encourage and (when asked) advise people who are struggling but we can't do that if we don't know about them. Now, we are aware of you and your struggles connected to AN surgery. I can guarantee you that, starting today, prayers will be said for you and encouragement offered to you. As you probably know by now, patience is a mandatory virtue when dealing with AN surgery ramifications, as you are, and I trust that yours will pay off very soon.
Jim
-
Hi Carlita
I am sorry to hear about all you are going through. I am glad you found this site. There are great people here we all support each other.
I hope it helps you in your healing journey.
Sam
-
Thank you to everybody, it's not realy good to know that also some other people have gone trough similar experience like mine, but glad to know i have support and that there are people who actually knows how this feels. God bless you all, i am looking forward to keep talking with yall :)
-
something i forgot to say is my horrible stomach scar, my surgeon told me i can get plastic surgery but i dunno yet how much the insurance will cover yet?
-
My prayers are with you! Here`s hoping to see you on this board and improving day by day. God Bless, Mickey
-
Hi Carlita-
And, a belated welcome to our little group. You've definitely had a rough time, but hopefully your days ahead will be brighter.
About the belly scar - in my experience, most insurance will not cover it at all because it is considered "cosmetic" and therefore not necessary. What I can suggest is that you try rubbing an anti-scar oil into it daily. I've been using something called Bio-Oil that I found at the drug store for about a month now and am seeing an improvement already. There are lots of products out there, and I'm sure that they all work. If you have a big knot of scar tissue under the incision (like I do!) you might find that a little massage each day helps to break down the scar tissue, too.
Again, welcome to our "club"!
Debbi
-
I'm a little late, but better late than never! Welcome to our little club, Carlita! I'm sorry for what you've been through so far, but as you have shown and others have said, a positive attitude goes a long way! I hope it gets better for you soon! I also hope you find the answers to your questions and the support from people who have been there in this forum. It's been a life saver for many people, including me! Welcome!
Brian
-
Hello Carlita,
Thank you so much for inviting me to the forum. I have been reading the replies you have been receiving from the group. Everyone seems to be very helpful. I'm sure we will both learn a lot. My hope is that we will make new friends by attending a support group and also by connecting with others through this forum.
Take care my dear friend,
Sasha
-
Hi Carliita,
Sorry I'm late coming to this thread. What a horrible ordeal you have been through! I hope that you will soon start to see improvement with all your problems and that you continue to find this forum a place of solace and encouragement.
Wishing you all the best and sending healing thoughts your way,
Wendy
-
Carlita and Sasha,
I think I posted once already to Carlita, but now I can welcome two at once. So welcome to the forum, both of you. Carlita, I have picked up your story through this post and a few others; now I am wondering about Sasha. Just a friend? Also an AN? If an AN, how are you doing? Just curious...
Steve
-
I was wondering about Sasha, too.
I'm guessing Sasha is a friend of Carlita's. Friends are definitely welcome here - and it's a very nice gesture of friendship, I might add ;D
Welcome to both of you!
Jan
-
Hi sweetie,
You certainly have been through alot. You will be amazed at this site. These are some of the most wonderful people I have ever, ever met. As I have said previously, You guys are my heroes. You certainly have my prayers and hope you feel better soon. You will get unconditional love here. It is amazing.
Peace and sending sunshine your way.
Robyn
-
Thank you all for all the support. Yeah, sasha is my unconditional friend, the one who was with me when i was about to die. She used tot come to my roomevery morning to ask me what i want for breakfast, cuz hospital food sucks! You guys would be amazed of what she did for me, this was the angel GOD have sent me. When nurses were mean, she was there cuz i was scared and crying. You guys have no idea how mean nurses can be, they were a couple ones that treated me worse than an animal. Throw me on the bed, and didnt even give me my medication when i was in the ICU. But sasha was there with me, many time she also cried with me. Because pain was awful and she could see that i was in extremely pain with all those ivs on my arms, neck and even feet. But that is in the past and what i did kept was sasha, my angel sent from GOD :'(
-
Carlita -
I'm glad you have someone like Sasha in your life. We should all be so lucky :)
Jan
-
Hello Steve and Jan,
Thanks for your warm welcome to the forum. I had not logged in for a few weeks, that's why I had not responded.
It's been a blessing from God to meet Carlita and have her as my friend.
She has been through a lot but we continue to pray for her recovery. I'm also glad that she has the support of this wonderful group.
Take care,
Sasha
-
Welcome to both of you, Sasha and Carlita! This forum has been a lifeboat for alot of us even years after our AN treatments, especially those of us with lasting after-effects like facial paralysis, headaches and balance problems.
Please remember that no question or topic is too minute or silly to ask about and that folks here have been in your shoes many times over.
Surrounding yourself with people in the same boat helps keep you afloat!
Hugs,
Capt Deb(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee60/Captdeb_photos/pirate2.gif)