In Feb. 1990, I had a car accident, someone rear ended the car behind me who rear ended my car, propelled it 25 feet forward while it was stopped at a cross road. My neck went back over the seat headrest; I saw the cars behind upside down and was projected forwards towards the windshield. I barely touched anything or I did not feel. Someone was screaming inside my car although I only had my dog fallen on the floor. It was I.
A few days of nauseas, and my hearing went down one big notch. Doctor said it will come back. A few months passed, it was worse. Doctor said it is the shock. A year passed, nauseas, loss of balance, lots of falling, broken ribs, no more proud gait. Doctor said it may still be your accident or it could be age getting you early. I had no white hair, no wrinkle, not a single pounds too many. I was doing sport until that accident and was still canoeing and hiking in summer time and still working long, active days. Doctor said, well you can't be so young in your sixties, you have to face it. It is over. Then I fell again and tinnitus started big time. It is still there but I do not hear it. By then I had pains in my left ear, stabbing pain in the cranium, my face dropped on one side, my eyes did not close at night leading to damage of the cornea. Wow, I thought, aging is not for sissies!
But I fell again in front of a car and it was a doctor. He spoke with me, asked me to visit him. The discovery of this 1.5 cm AN was next. After 7 years of feeling like a crumbling building, it was a relief. I felt much better.
My ENT thought it might be possible to wait as long as symptoms were lesser than a possible poor outcome. So I waited.
I am still waiting.
But I worked at making repair in my facial weakness, I used plastic wrap for 3 years to keep the moisture at night in my eyes. My nose and throat had no moisture. It created some bad problems. But after the disappointment my GP had been, I did not tell her about my AN, I took care of all the problems myself. Exercises for retraining that drooping lip, and biofeedback to get back the tears and moisture in my eyes and eventually in my nose. I still have to give it a boost once or twice a month but I have not used drops or plastic wrap or goggles since 1999, so I am happy, because this was no fun, I need my eyes more than ever.
I hope to stay as I am now, having an MRI each years or longer, drink a lot of water, eat clean food, mostly veggies, not alcohol but half a beer a few times per months, Be active, involved, interested in many things. This tumor manifests itself once in a while. I make note about when and why. I must then relax and do something quiet. It goes away. That’s all. I will not touch it as long as it stays the same
