First, let me apologize to rm516 JLR and Bomberman for not responding. I haven't been here in a while.
Tomorrow is my 6 month anniversary from my surgery date and I thought I would provide a small update. Life is good....correction, life is great!! For those of you who may be unfamiliar with my story, I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma in March of this year that measured 4.2x3.5x3.7. Yessir....a biggy!! I had retrosigmoid surgery on May 26 at Toronto Western Hospital with Dr. Gelareh Zadeh. About 75% of tumor was removed and the bed of tumor left was zapped by Gamma Knife in on August 9.
Today I feel normal. I don't mean the "new normal" or the "redefined normal" that people talk about. I mean, I feel exactly as I did before the surgery. The hearing in my right ear is better than it was before surgery. I couldn't talk on the phone with my right ear and now I can. I would go to a baseball game or other event and the person I was with had to sit on my left so I could hear them. Now it doesn't matter. I certainly don't have perfect hearing, but I am blessed to have what I have. I have no facial nerve damage, no balance issues and no other complications or deficits.
The back right corner of my head is still numb from the surgery, but the area of numbness has slowly gotten smaller and now I am just starting to get some feeling in that last area of numbness. I still have a resolving hematoma on the left side of my torso. Nobody really tells you this before surgery, but lying in the park bench position for many hours (for me it was 13.5) really puts tremendous strain and pressure on your side. I was terribly bruised and it was terribly uncomfortable for quite some time. Anyway, for a resolving hematome....it's taking its sweet time to resolve. It's a tiny bit tender and just looks a little funny if I have my shirt off or wear a tight t-shirt.
The first part of my recovery wasn't easy, but it was certainly manageable. I did, however, recover remarkably quick. Here is a timeline. I had surgery on May 26. On June 18, I participated in the Toronto Brain Tumor Walk and was able to walk the full 5km and raised almost $7k for brain tumor research. On July 7, I traveled to Michigan to see a rock concert. On July 18, I started back at work full-time. On August 2, I attended my first karate class. On August 9, I had Gamma Knife. On October 26 (the five month anniversary of my surgery) I received my blue belt in Karate.
I was so terrified when I was diagnosed and it was so traumatic for me. Now, I look back and it was like a little blip. Your chances of a positive outcome are greater than the chances of a negative outcome. Stay positive!!! I know it's hard, but do your best to stay positive as it really helps. There is so much negativity out there and so much doom and gloom when you venture out into the internet. Being diagnosed with an AN is SCARY!!! Everyone that had positive outcomes needs to post their success story, so we can help support others going through this and maybe make it a little less scary.
I try and go to every Toronto chapter support group meeting of the Acoustic Neuroma Association of Canada to tell my success story so others going through this hear something positive. I have recently been invited to join the board of directors of the Acoustic Neuroma Association of Canada and I'm hoping that I'll be able to make a meaningful contribution.
Be well!!!
