Back to Work!

Well I finished my first full week back at work and I have to say I feel great! I finally feel like I getting back in the swing of things. I still feel numbness in my face but it is moving more and I am starting to see a smile. It is hard to believe it has has almost been 6 months since my surgery. Have a good weekend everyone :)

Grey's Anatomy - "Really? Was that how it was?"

I have finished my first week (part-time) and I have to say it went by fast. It was glad to see everyone! It is going to be awhile before I get back into the swing of things but I felt pretty good none the less.

Jen and I are fans of the show Grey's Anatomy and this weeks episode featured an acoustic neuroma patient. Dr. Shepard (McDreamy) was supposed to work on him months ago but he had crushed his hand in last season's plane crash episode and had to go through rehabilitation. Now the patients situation is imminent. It was great to watch as I felt a bit famous but of course a bit sad, In an effort to "hollywood-ize" the story they got the facts wrong and left alot out. So I will try to explain as best I can using my personal experience and research.

The tumour was referred to as "large" but they did not say how large. Normal protocol is depending on the patients age / symptoms / tumour size is how they go about treating it. The care pathway from the acoustic neuroma of Canada website is here: http://www.anac.ca/node/72#overlay-context=node/72

"Large" probably meant it was larger than 2.5 cm in size and the reason they decided to operate is because it was starting to press on vital structures like the brain stem. Things like blood pressure and heart rate are regulated through the brain stem so it is pretty important that they are not interferred with. Having it radiated would have been out of the question due to the tumours size and the patients age. A possible side effect of radiation is radiation induced cancer and it not a side effect you want to deal with at 30 but say if your 70 you might consider it.

Monitoring the facial nerve during the surgery was done. This is done since the facial nerve of the affected side runs close to the 8th cranial nerve. When the tumour grows, it tends to wrap itself around the facial nerve. The neurosurgeon needs to carefully pull the tumour off the facial nerve. The facial nerve is monitored to ensure the surgeon doesn't damage it while he is resecting the tumour.

If you looked at how the patient was lying they were probably using an approach to resect the tumour known as the "translabyrnth" appoach. If this was the case, they got it wrong. There has to be two surgeons to do this appoach. The neurosergeon and neurotologist (ear surgeon). It's my understanding the ear surgeon opens you up and neurosurgeon resects the tumour.

After the surgery he had no facial droop. If the tumour was touching the facial nerve there is going to be some droop. From what we saw on the show it was covering the facial nerve. If the nerve wasn't damaged the facial droop will go away. I have personally met with several people who have the procedure done different ways and they don't have any droop. The thing is it took months if not over a year or longer for the droop to go away! I am over 5 months recovered and it is going away slowy....

After the surgery he sat in his hospital bed and he looked alert and his sister said "Oh my gosh" you can hear! Well of course he can hear, he still has the other ear to hear out of! One of the most elusive things with this surgery is the preservation of hearing on the affected side. I spoke to several people who had acoustic neuromas and they told me get used to only hearing out of one ear. There are several factors as to why this is so (location of tumour, approach used resect tumour, size of tumour, etc) but it is what it is.

Like I said before, it was nice to see that it was featured in the show but the experince is a little different then they portayed it :)

If you would like to know more about acoustic neuromas, check theses links out:

http://www.anac.ca/

http://anausa.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_neuroma

http://www.skullbaseinstitute.com/acoustic-neuroma/

Going back to Work!

Well I have healed up enough to go back to work (at least part-time) and I am quite excited. I have decided to give Jen a break from writing and contribute a post. My journey is not over yet, but I will try and update the blog as much as I can from time to time. So much is going on right now, it is hard to keep up, but one thing I have learned through out this ordeal is no matter what is happening, be positive because life can be so much better if you take the situation and frame it in a positive light :). I have also learned to expect the unexpected, you will never be disappointed!

I just want to thank everyone for their well wishes and we will talk again soon......

Cheers!

Dan

Went for a visit...

Last week Dan's GP suggested to "test the waters" and give driving a try.  Again the main issue we are still dealing with is Dan's right eye.  It's still a bit droopy, very dry and there is still not much blinking action.
We've been to town and back during the day without any issues.  A short 8-10 minute drive from home. 
We tried a night time drive once and I ended that fairly quickly. 
"I WANT TO LIVE, I WANT TO LIVE !!!  PULL OVER!"  is what came out of my mouth (so Dan says!!  lol)
The bright lights where too much, not a big surprise.  Every time a car came toward us Dan started to veer to the shoulder.  A wee bit frightening.  It's hard to say if he's driving worse because I had "concerns" before the surgery when Dan drove!  ;)  Don't get me wrong he is a very safe driver however........

So today there may have been a few sightings of Dan at work.  The drive is fairly long so the doctor suggested we have Dan drive to test it out.  Today was a challenge to say the least.  We drove in a full on rain storm which wasn't too bad, it was the defrost blowing that was need to keep the windows defogged.
Dried Dan's eye out right away.  Not much we could have done about that.  Normally in windy situations he would wear his eye patch, driving like that would probably not be a great idea.

It was very nice that Dan got to see some of his co-workers!  :)

All in all we still have a few hurtles to get over before Dan can safely return back to work.
We're still chugging along. 
Yesterday I actually stopped and reflected...wow WE'VE come along way since August 21st.
What a miracle!

I would like to share something I came across today, it's a bit surreal.  Everything this woman says Dan and I have said as well....powerful and VERY TRUE!!!!!
A GIFT!


http://www.ted.com/talks/stacey_kramer_the_best_gift_i_ever_survived.html?source=email#.UIcCGNrxs4d.email


What do you think about that???  It is 110% true!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Dan with his beard.  Just under a week after surgery, sitting with his walker getting a few minutes of fresh air.  Resting up to walk back to the room.

Two weeks after surgery at home.  The boys just couldn't resist the hat.  Dan wears the patch to protect his eye.

Here we are 6 weeks after the surgery.

Dan has graduated from his cane and is walking around on his own. 

Physiotherapy 3 times a week is helping Dan with strength, endurance and balance.

Strength - His right side is still weaker but it is getting better. 

Endurance- Mornings are very slow due to aches and pains and by early afternoon he needs a nap to get through the rest of the day.

Balance- It is better but not 100%, (dark and uneven grounds are not Dan’s friends) we laugh a lot as he must look like he’s had a “few”.  Laughter is the best medicine.  J

We have been visiting our Doctor every two weeks for checkups; he has not got the ok to drive because of his balance issues and occasional double vision (tired). 

Right side of face is still asleep! He is being patient since the surgeon did say it could take up to three months to get it all back.  Most of his irritation comes from his eye.  Because his right eye can’t blink it is very dry.  Eye drops help with ensuring his cornea isn’t scratched causing permanent damage.  Dan does not like wind!!!

With the Thanksgiving weekend upon us it seems to be an understatement to say we have a lot to be thankful for this year.  For myself I am grateful every day from the time I wake up until the time we all go to sleep at night.  Thanksgiving Day is just a day to celebrate all that is great in our lives with family and friends.

THANK YOU ALL for caring.

We hope you all have a great time celebrating all the great things in your lives!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So it has been three weeks now since Dan's surgery.
Everyday his balance gets a bit better.  He has graduated from a walker to a cane.  Today Dan started physiotherapy.
They have him set for three times a week.
The doctor would be very happy that Dan is following his recovery rules.  He is getting a wee bit grumpy/frustrated.  Like I said before Dan doesn't like to sit around and do nothing.  Physio will be great because he can't wait to get back to working out again.
His eye still bugs him as does drinking from a cup.  A couple more months and these things won't be an issue.
Our oldest son loves to rub Dan's right shoulder.  His whole right side is stiff.

 Over all we are on the right track.  Patience is no longer his strong suit which makes me giggle.  He is human!!!!  :)
That too will come back I am sure.  :-)

Busy days.

We came back Sunday afternoon.  With a lovely greeting from Dans siblings and their families.  We had some dinner, and it was great!


Monday night my family brought dinner over.  All in all everyone just wanted to lay there eyes on Dan to make sure he was truly OK.

We have been home for two days now and it's heaven!  :-)
Dan is sleeping great in our recliner and continues to get stronger.
The boys have been amazing with their daddy.  I am so proud of them.  They have always been very compassionate boys.
Today we went to get the staples out and it went very well.  The incision looks fantastic.  Our GP was really amazed how well Dan looked.  If you think about our other option of having surgery done in Canada Dan would have only just gotten out of the hospital. (8-10 days)
We are blessed with the procedure Dan had done, especially with the severity of the situation.  He truly is lucky to be alive.

Tomorrow we look into physiotherapy.
 Also, I've been informed...."the beard is coming off"!
lol
I think he looks very handsome.