Tomorrow will be my 30th day post op (translab). Thought this is a good time to share my experience... the whole journey so far.
I am Phoebe, 52Y, living in San Jose, California. I am working for a wireless audio device company, specialized in TV headphones for hearing impaired (ironically
).
Back in 2018, I started to notice that my left ear hearing was not as good as the right. Dealing with hearing impaired customers everyday, I thought that's part of aging process and therefore, did not pay much attention to it.
In March, 2020, locked up at home, I started to feel that my left tongue and left lip were a bit numb. With some medical background myself, I diagnosed myself as having AN. Then I booked with my family doctor and was sent to take an MRI.
Mid March, 2020, the MRI confirmed that I have AN on my left side - size 2.8*2.6*2.5. With two close friends passed away due to brain cancer, I felt very lucky that I have a benign tumor rather than a cancerous one.
The next step of course was to figure out the treatment. Mine was too big to wait. To choose between an operation and radiation therapy was my task for April and May. I consulted with multiple doctors, from east coast to west coast. Eventually, we settled with Dr. Friedman's team. Dr. Friedman is very approachable, extremely efficient, experienced, and confident.
As you all know, the biggest concern about the AN removal operation for many, like myself, was the facial nerve damage.... I told the doctor that I would rather have another operation a few years down the line rather than get facial nerves affected. Dr. Friedman told me there is 1% chance for permanent damage and 6% for temp damage... So a lot of praying before the operation
. I really THANK GOD for giving me peace of mind before the big day.
My translab operation was done on 2nd, June (Tuesday) in UCSD by Dr. Friedman and Dr. Swartz. The operation took 7 hours (pushed into theater at 7.30 and woke up at 4.30). The first thing I did when woke up was - tried to smile. I was SOOO happy when I feel that I could smile as good as I ever have before
) Dr. Swartz also told me that my tumor was 100% removed.
The second day, PT came, and helped me to walk. I did not feel much pain and took only one Tylenol a day in hospital. Overall, I didn't feel very uncomfortable after the operation. BIG thanks to Dr. Friedman, Dr. Swartz, and the whole team in UCSD.
Stayed in ICU for 3 days (due to Covid, empty hospital, I guess), I was released on Friday.
However, the first day back home was not that smooth. After a greedy hot shower, I passed out... and hit my head on the toilet. I was sent back to emergency and got an MRI again to make sure my brain was still ok. Praise the Lord! I passed the hard drop test. After 13 hour of being observed in emergency, I was sent home again.
On day 8th, I went back to hospital, met my doctors again, and to get my stitches removed. Took a picture with Dr. Friedman. I will share some of my photos on youtube soon. Day 9th, my husband drove for 8h and we came back home.
I am getting better every day. Not too much pain all the way through. I only take 1-2 Tylenol before bed at night for the first 10 days. First week, I slept a lot, rested a lot. By the 3rd week, I was back to 85-90% of old me, although my mouth's left side taste is still not back.
Tomorrow is my 30th day post op. Now, I can walk the dog. I am 95-98% back, walking 10000+ steps per day and doing my routine exercise again
Of course, my left ear is deaf now. With my right ear only, I feel more sensitive to noise. If move my head quickly, I feel a bit weird. Other than that, I am good old me again.
Overall, this was a smooth journey so far. I THANK GOD for giving me good doctors and also my husband and family who have given me a lot of support during this hard time.
For friends who have similar challenge and out there with questions, I am very happy to answer any questions you have
