ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => AN Issues => Topic started by: Kathy M on April 05, 2009, 06:30:09 pm
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Hi All!
This is good news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have had so many downs with very few ups since surgery, so I just had to share some good stuff with you.
After the 2nd surgery to clean up the incision (debride is the official word, I think), I had the staples and sutures removed last Wednesday. There is NO SIGN OF INFECTION ANYWHERE!!!!! I asked the doctor how long it would take to completely heal and get my hair back - 3 months!!! So, when I go back to work in a few weeks, I'll be wearing scarfs - man if only it wasn't going into the spring and summer, maybe Steve could have knitted me a scarf!! Oh well. I'm beginning my search for scarves of all colors to go with my new wardrobe - I've lot 17 pounds since surgery and I'm determined to lose another 15.
Since last Wednesday, I've had energy, I've driven a lot (both day and night), went to a mall, exercised, cleaned, did yard work, and shopped shopped shopped!!! Each of these milestones were so important to me and long time coming, but they came and I am feeling like myself again.
The mall experience was unbelievable - I had read where malls were sometimes hard to walk around in, but I didn't plow into anyone and didn't step on the first child. I have to admit, though, when we left the mall, my husband asked what I thought about the huge line of kids with the Easter Bunny and I said "What bunny?"! He said the line was right next to where we were walking and the bunny was 7 feet tall waving at everybody. Wow - guess I'm not good at looking at what's going around me - I'll have to work on that!!!!
My next appt with the neurosurgeon and neurotologist will be in a few weeks and I'll get my return to work date at that time. In the meantime, I am going to be working on getting stronger every day and mentally preparing for the chaos that awaits me when I get back to the office.
Sorry to go on and on..... I just had to share this with you - I love good news!!!!!
Have a great week, all!!!
Kathy
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Kathy~
SO glad to hear all your good news!! I know you are so happy! I have not ever had any trouble at malls or stores - except the obvious of not hearing someone speaking into my ear!
Thank you for sharing your GOOD news!! :-*
K
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That is really GOOD news! You have had a long and hard battle to recuperate, and I know how good it feels to be doing normal things. I'm still pleased as punch to do ordinary stuff like go to the grocery, now that the meninigitis is all gone. Here's hoping that the days ahead are wonderfully, boringly normal for you and your patient hubby. :D
Priscilla
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Wow, that is fantastic! I can only hope.
nANcy
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Good for you, Kathy! Always great to hear good news - thanks for sharing!
Cindy
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We love good news too, Kathy. You certainly deserved some, you have been very patient waiting your turn.
Scarfs, while simple enough to knit, are just too darn long and take stacks of yarn to make. Although summer is coming up, I plan to continue making hats all year, as trying to make them all in November is out of the question. We will talk. ;)
Enjoy the thrills of your new normal life.
Steve
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Hi Kathy, I wasn't around when you had your first surgery but I just want to say I'm sooo happy for you to be feeling better and hitting those milestones. Can I ask you how you knew you had a staph infection? Congrats on feeling well and prayers as you continue healing!
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Great news Kathy! Looks like most of your troubles are finally behind you now!
Ernie
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Kathy
I'm so glad things are looking up and you're feeling energetic. Malls aren't too bad for me (I just feel kind of tipsy); however, they can be a real headache when shopping with my teenage daughter!
Keri
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Kathy....very happy to hear that you are on the right path now. I know you had more than your fair share of detours, but you're headed in the right direction now. Hope to hear nothing but good reports coming from you in the future. Good luck.
Patrick
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Kathy ~
Congratulations on your great progress toward regaining normalcy! Enjoy it! :)
Jim
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Great news, Kathy! As noted, you've had a long, hard-fought battle to recover from surgery so you definitely deserve some good news for a change. I can't say that I've been to the mall yet after surgery (not much of a shopper), but I've done many other things a long the way. You'll get better at seeing the things going on around you soon enough. You have to get more used to the new normal and then that will come with time. I'm SO happy for ya!
Regards,
Brian
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I wonder . . . do we actually forget the old normal in the process of finding our new normal? That would help a lot to avoid disappointment.
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Nancy,
I can only guess being only 11 months post op, however I would guess that given enough time that you somewhat forget the "old" and embrace the "new" and it becomes the "new normal" for you.. So, while you may remember the "old normal" it becomes less top of mind over time. Does that make sense? I still have things that remind me that I had surgery, or that things are just a little different.. But, I imagine that over time it will become "normal" to me and I won't notice it as much.
Regards,
Brian
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Nancy,
I hope I never forget the old normal...I am a musician (non-professional!) and regularly play in a community band and small woodwind ensembles. I will miss the richness of sound, the full goosebump-raising beauty of heart-wrenching or exillerating music. While I haven't played since my surgery, I have listened a lot to my ipod and it makes me sad each and every time I listen...but that sadness is almost always replaced at some point by an appreciation for what I do have. I just hope I never forget how it used to sound. The appreciation will increase over time, I'll bet, and the sadness will lessen.
BUT...I'm kinda liking the nights when my husband starts to snore and I put my good ear on the pillow and tune him out. I've also warned my boss and co-workers that if I intentionally sit on their right, it might just mean that I don't plan to listen to what they are saying!!! That should be fun sometimes, too, so the new normal ain't all bad!!!!!
Kathy
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Kathy -
That is great news! Seems like it was a long time coming!
Around here, we think you're perfectly normal - old normal, new normal...whatever! ;D
The old good ear to the pillow trick works wonders!
Lori
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That trick is great for tuning out kids in the morning also.. Until they come and jump on you in bed that is. ;)
Brian
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Hi Kathy,
I agree with Donnalynn about the music. I play piano and lead an instrumental ensemble at my church. They all stand on my left (AN side). I thought that would be so difficult, but it's working out alright. Things sound differently and sometimes echo-y acoustics may me feel tipsy, but I'm able to deal with it. My hearing was shot for months anyway so the SSD adjustment wasn't a total shock. Actually, the ringing has since gotten better. We have made some recordings and when I'm in the studio trying to help 'mix' I feel like that's a joke sometimes since you depend on hearing the music all around. Oh well, we have a great engineer ,thankfully.
I"m hoping a BAHA will help eventually - waiting for that a few months down the road.
I wish you well.
Keri
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Hi DonnaLynn and Keri!!! Thanks for sharing how music is part of your life with me. I can't imagine my life without it, and I will never give up on it....just miss the fullness of it all. I am so anxious to know how the hearing devices work for you. After all the problems I've had with surgery, the BAHA doesn't sound like much fun right now, but I think that could change when I get a little distance from all of this.
Before surgery, I vowed to my family (and ensemble members) that if I couldn't play clarinet again after surgery, I'd figure out a way to continue with the band....the percussion section can always use players! BUT...thankfully....I will be in the clarinet section with the first downbeat of our community band (my daughter plays clarinet too, so we can still play duets!!! yay)
Thanks again...keep playing and directing!!!!
Kathy
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Hi Kathy,
I'm sure it's a musician thing - i think like you do. I've thought if something ever happened to me to prevent me playing piano, I'd do percussion, or hammered dulcimer (I have one; just don't practice it enough). Anyway, you have to do SOME kind of music! I think it's great you play with your daughter. My daughter plays flute and we've played together some - need to do that more.
I'm putting off the BAHA as well. At first , (pre surgery) I thought I just couldn't get one fast enough. Now that at 2 months post op my scar still hurts a bit, I can wait. Still adjusting anyway. And maybe by the time I (or we) get one, it will seem great in comparison to what we've grown accustomed to for a long time. Then again, sometimes I don't want to get my hopes up too much!
I haven't been to a symphony orchestra concert post op - I'm sure I'll miss the surround sound experience of that. But hopefully, eventually the BAHA will help that as well.
Keri
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Hi Kathy,
It's wonderful to hear all your great news and about the milestones you've reached. It sounds like life is getting back to "normal" at last. As for plastering your good ear against the pillow at night, I do that too. I sleep better than I have in years! :D
Sending wishes for continued good healing,
Wendy
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So happy to hear the good news, Kathy. :)
I understand about counting your blessings, but missing what used to be. It takes time.
And it's still OK to get frustrated/mad.
I was feeling mad and mourning my loss of smile, and am determined to get some of it back. It may take another year.
I see people who don't smile when they should be and I just want to say SMILE! What I wouldn't give to smile!
Just found my cell phone. Kept calling myself, but with SSD, it was very hard to locate it under a paper. :-\
Take care,
Maureen
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:) :)excellent.................yes as my local AN support group tells me, i'm in pretty good shape. i cant see it sometimes but they and my wife can.
wonderful positive news !!!!!!!!!!!!!! i lost 14 pounds at my surgery and 5 pounds to weeks later as well due to complications, but its a hell of a way to lose weight LOL.
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Kathy -
don't give up on your iPod just yet. There is an amazing - and cheap - solution called a Mono plug adapter (or at least that's what I call it). You can pick one up at Radio Shack - or I think someone said Amazon.com
The mono plug adapter takes stereo sounds that usually come out of two ear plugs and puts it into one ear plug. In effect, lets you hear stereo in one ear.
I purchased my mono plug adapter and a single ear plug at Radio Shack over a year ago for about $6.50 and I'm very happy with the sound.
I also have a car adaptor for my iPod that plugs into the cigarette lighter and the sound I hear is excellent. My BAHA has certainly helped with the car sound, but even before I bought it I could hear my iPod very well. The car adapter cost me about $40 at JC Penneys, but you can get them lots of places.
Congratulations on being infection free - finally! Now there's a milestone!!! ;D
Jan
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Thanks, Jan, for the tip! I'm going to check out the adapter today.
Congrats on the weightloss, cherrypiper!!! I'm down a size (15 pounds) and decided this was the catalyst I needed to get myself into shape - I'm 48 now, and I am determined to be in the best possible shape by my 50th birthday. After all this, we deserve that, right??????? You're right - a heck of way to lose weight, but whatever the reason, I'm kinda liking the results!
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Kathy~
Please let me know what you find out about the mono plug - I went to Radio Shack for one & they looked at me llike I had horns! They tried to sell me a Bluetooth!! ???
I lost 50 pounds when I had AN surgery - I was ALWAYS on the bigger side (In fact, when Dave's sister was telling him about me & he kept asking what I looked like she kept saying, "She has a GREAT personality (aka: not wanting to say FAT!)!" When she tolld me about him, she said "He's older & losing his hair!" - I would rather have a "great personality!"- we still joke about it!) In fact, when I moved back to my hometown a few years later, everyone that knew me before was most surprised by my weight loss - NOT my face...or at least that is what they commented about! ;) They would say, "You look so different (me thinking "hello...face?" and then they would say, "Haven't you lost a LOT of weight?"
K
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Kathy~
Please let me know what you find out about the mono plug - I went to Radio Shack for one & they looked at me llike I had horns! They tried to sell me a Bluetooth!! ???
I lost 50 pounds when I had AN surgery - I was ALWAYS on the bigger side (In fact, when Dave's sister was telling him about me & he kept asking what I looked like she kept saying, "She has a GREAT personality (aka: not wanting to say FAT!)!" When she tolld me about him, she said "He's older & losing his hair!" - I would rather have a "great personality!"- we still joke about it!) In fact, when I moved back to my hometown a few years later, everyone that knew me before was most surprised by my weight loss - NOT my face...or at least that is what they commented about! ;) They would say, "You look so different (me thinking "hello...face?" and then they would say, "Haven't you lost a LOT of weight?"
K
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102690&tab=summary
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Thank you Neal! Why didn't I think of looking that up?? At least now I know what I am looking for - even if the sales people don't!
K
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Kaybo -
I was going to tell you I'd post a picture of my mono plug adapter and the ear plug, but Neal had an even better idea. Thanks for the Radio Shack link, Neal ;D
If you go to Radio Shack, Kay, look into the single ear plug also. I really like mine.
Jan