ANA Discussion Forum
AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: Dog Lover on September 14, 2008, 07:49:08 pm
-
I was looking on the calendar tonight trying to find the next person who has a treatment for their AN. I saw a Tamarah, but can't find out who she is. I'd like to pass it on to the next person!!
Can anyone help me find the next person who I could contact?
Thanks,
Cathy
-
It is supposed to be Tamara, who is having a BAHA implant on the 25th. That's just an office visit, though. I would pick Lori (Lori67), who is having a 7-12 nerve jump surgery on the 26th, which is a bigger deal (sorry Tammy). Or straight to Cheri (CWood), as Donnalynn suggested.
Steve
PS: I moved the topic to AN Community, since I don't think the magic scarf qualifies as medical treatment. ;)
-
I'm not anticipating a great deal of hair loss on this surgery, so I think Cheri should be the next recipient of the magic scarf. But I certainly won't mind a little magic sent this way!
Donnalynn, the "magic scarf" was... let's see - it started out as Debbi's - didn't it? And it seems that everyone who has been honored enough to be the user of the magic scarf has done quite well in their recovery - so we figured it was a good idea to keep that run of good luck going! And I just can't wait to see one of the men wearing it!
Lori
-
Lori,
You know we will be sending "magic" your way, whether it be thru the scarf or otherwise! And, I too can't wait to see a man w/ the magic scarf
cindy
-
To those who are wondering what is a "Magic Scarf", I was one that had this scarf, picture on the left is with the scarf and I forwarded it to Cathy for her surgery and included a journal so we can see how far this scarf will go. So far, everyone that has had it did fairly well with their surgery. That's the story behind the "Magic Scarf".......Good Luck to the next AN'er........
-
What a great idea!! Kind of like the "Magic Pants Club". The scarp will certainly tell a good story.
Best of luck to who ever is receiving it next.
Anne Marie
-
Cheri,
Debbi actually started the Magic Scarf going around and gave it to me jurst before my surgery. She asked me to pass it on and I sent it to Sue who had the idea of adding the journal and passed it along to Cathy. As for who should get it next, in my opinion, it should be Lori (Lori67) who is having 7-12 jump surgery next Friday.
Wendy
-
Well, as long as we're voting, I vote for Cheri.
Let's not forget that even though Tamara is having surgery, she'll most likely get a special BAHA "hat" compliments of her surgeon.
And BTW, how does one have a BAHA implanted at an "office visit"? My BAHA surgery was outpatient, but it wasn't an office visit. I should have ask for that though; it might have saved my insurance company some money.
Sorry, I digress :P
As Lori pointed out, her surgery doesn't require a great deal of hair loss. Plus, I also get the feeling that Lori just isn't a scarf person - no offense, Lori, I'm not either :) I do wish you "magic" though ;D
Jan
-
Cheri,
Initially, I was supposed to have middle fossa. I asked my doc how much hair would have to be shaved. He advised me that an area of approximately 7cm X 7cm (I think that's about 3 1/2 inches X 3 1/2 inches) would be shaved above my ear. I was told since I have long layers in my hair that it would not be noticable after surgery. Check with your doc, but my guess is this will be close to what he tells you too. The Magic AN scarf should help with disguising the site to, along with giving you some added magic for your recovery!
Best wishes,
Wendy
-
Cheri -
don't freak about the "hair loss". Most docs only shave what they need to and it grows in very fast - mine was coming in a few days post op.
I wear my hair short, but if you wear yours long, they generally keep the hair above the incision area long and it will hang down and cover the incision area.
Another nice thing is that once the hair grows back, it generally grows in around the scar and makes it virtually invisible.
My scar faded very nicely, too. By the time I had my BAHA surgery nine months post-op my scar was extremely hard to see.
Jan
-
Cheri,
The hair loss part wasn't too bad. I asked my surgeon to pretend he was a hairdresser when he was doing the hair removal. He told me he was much better at cutting heads than cutting hair, but he'd do his best. My hair was about chin length at the time, with long layers. The only hair that was shaved was about 3 fingers width above and behind my ear (yours will be a little different), but the longer layers on the top covered right over the incision, so you hardly noticed anything. If you really looked closely, you could see that it was a little unever along the bottom, but you would have had to really be looking. And like Jan said, it grew in fast and I'm able to pull my hair back into a ponytail now without the scar even showing.
I told my doctor that if this brain surgery thing doesn't work out for him, he's got a real future at Great Clips! :D
Lori
-
Well, the Magic Scarf has succeeded in it's Magic once again!
I had my 4 week post op MRI and dr. appt. this morning. Also had a hearing test. Everything is going great, balance is getting there (hope to be driving by the weekend), and MRI looked great. The hearing test came out good, too. I have an 88% word recognition right now, and they said that when the fluid is all gone, that my hearing should be back to what it was before my surgery, which was in the high 90's!!!
My doc had such a big grin on his face when he told me that. I did, too. ;D
I am going to take at least another 2 weeks off of work to give the balance time to improve and deal with the fatigue. But, I am one happy lady today.
Now...this lady is going to take one long nap this afternoon. I think I maybe got 1 1/2 hrs of sleep last night. Nerves, I think. :-\
Cathy
-
Great news Cathy!
Sweet dreams and I hope you have a long, restful nap!!
Lori
-
Cathy~~
Glad you got such good news - I'd have a big smile on my face too!! (Well, if I could smile, I would!)
K ;D
-
Wahoo, Cathy!!!! Great news!
Debbi
-
Great news, Cathy. So glad to hear it! That scarf really does seem to be doing the trick!
Cindy
-
Cathy,
What great news for you, were all real glad. I had an MRI and CT when I came out of surgery, now I go back in Nov.....Now you can sleep away.....
-
Cathy,
What fantastic news!!! I am so happy for you that they were able to save your hearing!!! Glad everything else is going well too.
Wendy
-
Cheri -
great attitude about the hair. As you say, what can you do? and at least they aren't shaving your entire head - something my children were very relieved to hear. They just hate to have mom be an embarassment to them :D
Cathy -
great news about your hearing ;D I envy you. The BAHA is incredible, but it just doesn't compare to "real" hearing. Congratulations!
Jan
-
HMMM Maybe we should have several 'magic scarves' floating around.
JO
-
JO -
I think the sombrero in that picture might work as well as a magic scarf!! Ole! :D
Lori
-
Maybe the scarf should go back to Wendy, to encourage her incision to heal fully.
M
-
So, Lori, where is your surgery going to be?
In case anyone wants to send you some magic - or a sombrero 8)
Inquiring minds want to know,
Jan
-
Maybe if we wrap the scarf REALLY tight around Wendy's head, that might stop the drips! :D
Jan, I'll be at St. Thomas Hospital in beautiful downtown Nashville. I've never been to this hospital. When I was at Baptist for my AN surgery, once I got moved into a regular room, I had a beautiful view of the skyline. Maybe I can request a room with a view this time too.
How sad is it that I've only lived here for 2 years and I've already been to just about every hospital and doctor in town? I was supposed to be spending these 3 years here going to the Grand Ole Opry and Dollywood!!! So far, I've only been to the RC Cola and Moon Pie festival and the winery owned by Kix Brooks! Something's wrong with this picture.
Lori
-
Good Day CWood,
Take a deep breath and just think that you have made the biggest decision and know all the possible, I repeat possible side effects......I felt very ready the morning of my surgery that I had done all my research and I had made my decision, now it was time to move forward and leave everything in God's hand. I was ready to accept anything that was going to happen. You should be at peace and know that all will go well, you have great doctors, great support......Hang in there and we're all here for you......
-
Cheri,
It's hard to imagine what good can come out of this now, but I know you'll be able to look back on it later and see it clearly. I think even those of us who have some residual issues to deal with can find something good that happened during this journey. You will too.
Trust in your doctors. They know what they're doing and you'll be in good hands. Worrying won't change that.
Banana moon pies??? I've never had one of those! Looks like I might have to give those a try!!
Lori
-
Lori,
St. Thomas is an excellent hospital and I'm betting that you'll like it as well as Baptist; I think it's (St. Thomas) a bit smaller. Maybe they'll give you a choice of views -- Belle Meade, or Harding Rd. and the construction of a new Publix in the neighborhood. My mother went to nursing school at St. Thomas (when it was in downtown Nashville, near Baptist) and now lives about half a mile from there. Best wishes as you approach your surgery date!
Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)
-
Catherine,
That's good to know! I've only seen it from the outside, but it looks newer than Baptist, so I'm guessing the inside is nice.
Seems like there is construction of a new "something or other" going on all over the place down here!! It must have been completely empty for a long time! :D
Lori
-
Marci,
Thanks for the thought of sending me the Magic AN Scarf -- I had my turn with it and it was majic! Although my leaking problem has been bothersome and scary a couple of times, I am bascially on the mend.
Sue, If you haven't already decided on someone, I think you should send the scarf to Cheri. Lori seems okay and so am I.
Wendy
-
Cheri -
No problems here, don't worry! We all just want to make sure the one who needs the most magic gets the magic scarf. Those of us having minor procedures don't want to "waste' any of the magic! :D
And congratulations to your medal winning daughter! I can't imagine how proud you must be. What sport/activity did she win it in?
Lori
-
Cheri,
It's hard to imagine what good can come out of this now, but I know you'll be able to look back on it later and see it clearly. I think even those of us who have some residual issues to deal with can find something good that happened during this journey. You will too.
Trust in your doctors. They know what they're doing and you'll be in good hands. Worrying won't change that.
Cheri -
I couldn't have said it any better than Lori (above). One day you will look back on your AN journey and realize how strong and brave you were to get through it.
Faith, trust, and confidence in your doctors is also an incredible thing. As my brother told me prior to my AN surgery "Release control" - it will make your journey that much smoother.
Jan
-
Cheri -
can't wait to see your postie photo complete with the magic scarf. It's become a tradition, you know ;D
Jan
-
Cheri -
A bronze at bocci!! That's great -a girl after my own heart (I'm Italian!). Tell her congratulations and I hope there are many more medals in her future!
Can't wait to see the pictures of the scarf in action!
Lori
-
Cheri,
Give your daughter my contragulations on her Bronze Medal too! You most certainly not causing problems with regard to the Magic Scarf. As Lori said, we want it to go to the person who needs it most right now and that is you! Glad to hear you are more at peace with your decison to have surgery. It's not unusual to start feeling very calm at this point. You've done everything you can do - you have faith in your doctors - of course, you know we are all pulliing for you - everything else is in place and all that's left is the few days you have to wait. Keep busy and keep your mind occupied with other things. Your day will be here before y ou know it and you'll be a postie!
Wishing you all good things,
Wendy
-
Cheri~
You got your toenails redone, didn't you?????? That's when I for sure get a pedicure - when I am going to go into the hospital to have babies or surgery!! Good excuse as any...
K
-
Cheri -
I don't think you're losing any more than the rest of us have! You've seen all the posts about hair color, make-up, hair cuts, etc... so, apparently, you're not alone.
And I also have been doing my pre-surgical nesting - making sure the house is clean and organized, when I know it will not be once I'm out the door. I don't know why I think people will come over and look in my closets and my sock drawer while I'm in the hospital, but for some reason I feel the need to clean them!
Oh, and if you grew up in NJ like I did, you'd have very fond memories of the old men playing Bocci at the Italian-American club! :D
Lori
-
Cheri,
You are definitely not alone in wanting the house to be in perfect condition before you leave. We dot home from vacation a little over a week before my surgery. I scrubbed, dusted and vacuumed the house from top to bottom before my surgery, stocked the freezer and even made, froze meals for my family, and had my hair colored and cut during that week. I also saw both of my surgeons for last minute pre-op visits and met Debbi, Eve and Joe for lunch in NYC -- whew! I exhausted myself when I looked back at all the running I did that week. I think we just feel better knowing everything is clean and organized before we have our surgery -- plus it keeps us occupied with more normal seeming things
Hang in there,
Wendy.
-
Oh, Donnalynn... I never thought about using an electric toothbrush right after surgery!
It must have felt like your brain was rattling around loose in your head! Aside from toothpaste probably being thrown all over the room!
Is it bad that I'm laughing at the mental picture I have of you doing this? :D
Lori
-
Wow, I never gave it much thought but now I'm glad that I couldn't find my electric toothbrush after surgery. :D
Cheri, I occupied myself with cleaning house also. I joked that I had the straightest sofa cushions in the state. It was the only thing I could control so there it is. I also made sure all the bills were paid, laundry done, and made plans to have our dogs looked after so that we wouldn't have to worry about them. Oh yes, and because the hospital is about an hour';s drive, I made arrangements for my husband to stay at a friend's house so he could be closer to the hospital but I didn't want him sleeping in the hospital. No reason why both of us should have a bad night's sleep.
Take care, and keep your attitude positive; you have no idea how much that will help. Will be thinking of you on the 2nd.
Marci
-
Donnalynn~
I want to hear the booger story too!!
K
-
Donnalynn -
I want to hear the booger story, three!!! ;D
Jan
-
Hey Cheri,
That's my line underneathe my picture....I have to keep smiling or I else I WILL cry ;D It seems we think a like. Your Italian, I'm Hungarian married 24 yrs this past Mon to an Italian. Lots of Italians on this forum and gosh do we like to discuss food. Lorenzo is are resident vino expert. He can tell us which wine to serve with a particular dish. Speaking of vino my husband is at it again. In a few days my house will smell like a wino's delight!
Now back to the topic, I too made sure my house was in immaculate, I've chilled on that the last few years. I don't know if its the AN thing or I've realized other things are more important. The house is clean, the laundry is done and I make decent meals when I can.
I wish you a very successful surgery, and a speedy recovery. Post some pictures with the Magic Scarf.
Anne Marie