Tag Archives: Recovery

Part Three: Aftermath

Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?

Calm down brain, you’re laying down. Do you remember down?

Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?

Brain, we’ve talked about this.

Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?

Brain, you’re going to have to figure this out. I know. It’s different.

Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?

Down is still down, it’s always been down.

Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?

Suit yourself, I can’t make you.

Lying in a hospital bed with the lights off, my brain is screaming into a void. It doesn’t like the answer, or lack thereof, it is getting in return but it just keeps screaming. This is incessant vertigo. That is how it felt after surgeons cut into my brain to remove an acoustic neuroma. My brain was in a panic, trying to find its place in the world, but the input it typically relies on was damaged first by the tumor and then the surgery. There is no information streaming in from one of the usual sources, and my brain is having trouble coping with its loss.

Symptoms and lingering effects

Rehab to regain my balance, trying to stand on one foot and tap the other in front of me standing on a piece of foam. Photo by John Podolak.
Rehab to regain my balance, trying to stand on one foot and tap the other in front of me while standing on a piece of foam (treadmill isn’t on). Photo by John Podolak.

Of the 12 cranial nerves, the eighth controls and senses both sound and spatial orientation. An acoustic neuroma is a tumor that grows on this acoustic/vestibular nerve. Mine grew on the right, and so my hearing and vestibular system have both been damaged beyond repair on that side. The vestibular system is a part of your inner ear, and it works in concert with your eyes to sense your spatial orientation, giving you balance. It’s made up of two canals, and small crystals that move when you move and settle in response to gravity’s pull. Since vestibular function is closely linked to your vision, problems with this system are diagnosed by studying eye movements. Together your eyes and your vestibular system signal to your brain to figure out where you are in space.

Vertigo, which I’ve explained as living in a world that won’t stop spinning, is a common symptom of vestibular dysfunction. However, not all vestibular problems result in vertigo, and you can experience dizziness and balance problems that aren’t vertigo. I’ve struggled to find what I feel is an accurate way to describe what vertigo is like, and to differentiate it from other types of dizziness.

Prior to my surgery, I had a positive Dix-Hallpike test, which is used to diagnose vertigo. For this test you put on goggles that block out light and lean back with your head unsupported and turned all the way to the right or to the left. If you have vertigo, it will be triggered by this maneuver because, without input from your eyes, your brain struggles to orient itself.

Immediately following the surgery my vertigo was more intense that I’ve ever felt it, to the point that I was constantly nauseated.  That is when I started describing it as a world that never stops spinning, or constantly riding Space Mountain. I had been told to expect this, so, unpleasant as it was, at least it wasn’t a surprise. The spinning lessened everyday after the tumor was removed, and, around the four-week mark post-surgery, the vertigo mercifully stopped. I recently had another Dix-Hallpike test and didn’t register a response, which is great.

I still have difficulty balancing, which is evident when I’m walking or going up and down stairs. If I try to walk with my eyes closed, it’s game over. Still, this is an improvement from the way things were in the hospital, when I couldn’t walk without assistance. I may wobble around like I’m hammered, but I can do it on my own. Vestibular rehab, which is a type of physical therapy, should help retrain my brain to balance. In some ways it feels like my brain is having an existential crisis, and, while I would like it to decide what it wants to do with itself, I know it takes time to adapt.

From physical to mental

Since the surgery was pushed earlier, it was only after the procedure that I started to process anything. Recovering from this procedure left me a lot of time to think, because I found it hard to focus on anything around me. Eyes closed, quiet, but awake, is a state I spent a lot of time in. Doing a lot of thinking, but not necessarily coming to terms with my feelings. People keep asking me if I’ve cried, or if I’ve gotten angry, but I’m not sure I’m sad or angry. I’ve had moments of course, and I get frustrated with myself when I struggle to do simple tasks, but I’m largely in good spirits. I feel lucky and loved more than anything else.

No, not learning to read I'm practicing eye tracking to help with balance. Photo by Joe Caccavo.
No, not learning to read I’m practicing eye tracking to help with balance. Photo by Joe Caccavo.

My worst moments come when I start getting down on myself for getting down. I’m impatient. I want to be back to normal. I want my life back. I want to be able to do things for myself. I want to walk without having to reach out and steady myself. I want to go back to work. I want my body back, because, in a lot of ways I feel like my body has been hijacked. Then I get annoyed with myself, because I’m going to get all of these things. I’m going to make a complete recovery, and it is only a matter of patience until I get there. I know I’m allowed to feel frustrated, but I try hard to maintain a realistic perspective about what has happened, and all the things that will happen because I’m still here.

That leaves things progressing incrementally. I’m anticipating being back on my feet sometime in June, and am looking forward to returning to the science communication world. I’m still doing a lot of thinking, and have a lot of emotional processing left to do, but I get a little bit closer to coming to terms with it everyday. As I’ve been reflecting, there are a few things that I’ve taken away from the whole experience which are not particularly earth-shattering, but are certainly foremost in my mind.

Things to take away

In the hospital with my sorority sisters, one of us isn't looking their best. Photo by John Podolak.
Before I left the hospital, with my sorority sisters. One of us isn’t looking their best. Photo by John Podolak.

First, as much as this happened to me, it happened to everyone who loves and cares about me. I’m so grateful to my friends and family for dropping everything to be at my side through all of this, and I think it is important to remember that this was traumatic for them. My parents keep talking about what I went through with the surgery, but I can’t imagine what they went through, watching the clock, waiting for news as an entire day slipped away, far longer than anyone predicted. I didn’t come out of the operating room until well after 10pm, and I know friends scattered across different cities were up watching their phones, waiting to hear how it went. I missed the majority of the drama either unconscious or blissfully unaware thanks to painkillers, so I think they had it worse. I’ve experienced such an outpouring of love and support, and have been so well taken care of – but caretakers need care too.

Second, never underestimate the power of an excellent nurse. I had two absolutely fantastic surgeons, and my primary care physician is awesome, but I also had terrific nurses. The nurses were always there, answering the majority of my questions (or helping me get the answers) for everything from tracking down my missing shoes to explaining what kind of medications I was taking and why. I know my Mom made a lot of late night phone calls to the hospital to check on me, and the nurses always fielded her inquiries in a calm and positive way. My nurses were all pretty awesome, and it made an unpleasant hospital stay that much more bearable.

Third, young and completely healthy isn’t protection against a medical emergency. You may be fine now, but life could have a curve ball headed your way, and you need insurance. I can’t even begin to imagine this experience without health insurance. I haven’t received the bill yet, but the costs associated with my care are going to be astronomical. Knowing I’m lucky enough to have primary and secondary insurance to help cover those costs has been such a relief.

Fourth, I have a new appreciation for what it is like to not be able to do something. I know I’ve said before that I can’t do something when really either I won’t, or just don’t want to do it. Having now experienced what it is like when you really can’t do simple things, I don’t think I’ll be mischaracterizing my abilities again. I also have a new appreciation for what a luxury it is to be able to sweat the small stuff. If your life is such that you can get worked up about things like traffic or a last minute meeting, you’re doing pretty darn well. There is so much that now seems like a waste of time or energy. It’s a trite truth that you don’t know what you have until you almost lose it, but I certainly have a renewed appreciation for all the good there is in my life.

The last thing I’ve been cogitating on (for now) is how important it is to trust yourself. I knew that something was wrong with me, long before I was actually diagnosed. I dismissed my symptoms for a long time, suffering through them rather than facing the reality that something serious could be wrong. Naturally, I’ve been blaming myself that things became as dire as they did, but I’m coming around to the idea that beating myself up about it isn’t exactly productive. This started out as dizziness and headaches, which could have been so many things besides an acoustic neuroma. It’s not surprising I and everyone I talked to about it brushed aside the idea of a tumor. It’s important to be your own advocate, and find a doctor that will listen to you. The first hearing test I took said I was fine, even though I knew I wasn’t. I’m so grateful to my primary care physician for listening to all of my symptoms and pursuing my case with a CT. She might not have been the one making the cuts, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say she saved my ability to move my face by making sure I was diagnosed properly.

What I’m taking away most is that you can’t hide from your health, and if you try, it’s likely to come crashing through your life like a hammer. I’m just glad I’ve got a chance to pick up the pieces.

Part Two: Surgery

It’s too bright in here.

No.  No, no, no, no, no. I don’t want this.

WHAT is that? They didn’t tell me about that.

I don’t want it, I don’t want it. I want to get up.

No. NO.

I’m going to be sick. I AM GOING TO BE SICK. Can’t you hear me?

I don’t have to calm down, this is wrong, I don’t want to be here.

No. No I don’t need this, I don’t want this.

Let me up. LET ME UP.

I’m going to be sick, again. AGAIN.

Morphine?

I don’t want to be here.

It’s too bright.

I’m told I didn’t wake up in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) with grace. I think perhaps luckily, I don’t remember the majority of the experience. What I remember most about waking up following 12 hours of brain surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma (more than 14 hours away from my family) is being angry that I was hooked to so many devices. I had three IV needles (though only one was in action), a catheter, a plastic bulb connected to an incision in my belly button collecting fluid, a heart monitor with five attachment points, and I couldn’t move my head because I had a heavy bandage wrapped around my brain like a donut. I woke up angry, and I woke up confused, and I woke up feeling, as I apparently slurred at my family, “aaawwfullllll.”

IVs in my right arm. Photo by John Podolak
IVs in my right arm. Photo by John Podolak

I was angry and confused. Either it was not explained to me, or I never processed the fact that I would have a catheter. Why this horrified me to the level that it did, I’m not sure. The sense of helplessness I guess. How suddenly and unexpectedly I had been transformed from an able-bodied 26-year-old, to unable to exert any control over even the most basic functions of my body made me confused. I wasn’t prepared to wake up in this new reality. I think, “will you put a catheter in me while I’m under anesthesia,” is something I should have asked when the doctors repeatedly beseeched me, “do you have any questions.” But, I didn’t think to ask. Even though it is obvious that I would need one, I hadn’t considered it. I hadn’t considered it because it didn’t even register as something to consider. I didn’t know that I didn’t know.

When I woke up connected to bags and tubes and needles late Thursday night I flipped out. My lack of grace included struggling to sit up, arguing that I didn’t need a catheter, and poking at the bulb collecting fluid, while repeatedly vomiting (into my oxygen mask at one point) before an increased cocktail of sedatives and painkillers finally took the fight out of me.  At that point, though I don’t remember my Mom being there, she assures me I vomited on her too. Less than 48 hours before, I thought I would have surgery perhaps in a month. I thought I would go back to work for a while. I thought I had time to get ready for this.

Progressing too quickly

Only a week before I channeled Linda Blair from The Exorcist in the PACU, I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma. My diagnosis followed months of symptoms like headaches, dizziness, vertigo, hearing loss, ringing in my ear and numbness in my tongue. It was a long process to get an accurate diagnosis, and I had been assured that my type of tumor was slow growing. My doctors told me to take time to plan for my life to be disrupted by the surgery and recovery. These same doctors warned me to pay attention to the feeling in my face. The numbness I was experiencing in my tongue may just have been a starting point, so, if any other numbness occurred, my medical team needed to know. It could be a sign that the tumor was growing faster than anticipated, a sign that it wasn’t benign after all. If my doctors were going to save my ability to control and feel my face, it was important that there be as little preexisting nerve damage as possible. A week after being diagnosed, I woke up unable to feel half of my face. I was numb from cheek to chin on my right side. Not wanting to be alone, I did what made sense to me, and I went into the office.

I called the doctor too of course, and left a message with the patient coordinator about my new symptom. While I waited to hear from my phsicians, I worked. I tried to answer emails, and tie up some loose ends to square things away. My doctor asked me to come in to see her that afternoon, so in the spirit of “just in case,” I set my out of office message. A friend picked me up and drove me to my appointment. My doctor explained that she felt we needed to get the tumor out as soon as possible, that we really couldn’t wait because my symptoms were worsening at a worrying rate. “Tomorrow,” she said. Tomorrow? I should probably call my parents, huh?

I won’t even begin to speculate what this entire process has been like for my parents. I know calling my Dad to tell him that I needed brain surgery the next day was not easy, so I can’t imagine what it was like on the other end. Luckily, we had already decided what type of surgery I would have, and had been able to meet the surgeons. So, while my parents and my brother rushed from New Jersey to Boston, I was admitted to the hospital.  My friend and I walked right from my doctor’s office into the emergency department and explained that I needed to be admitted. My boyfriend joined us, and the three of us switched from the emergency department to a room across the street by ambulance, then back across the street again by ambulance to a different room. I kept offering to walk, but rules are rules and I wasn’t allowed. Of course, I was rewarded for following the rules by losing my shoes during the room switching.

By now Wednesday afternoon had faded into Wednesday night. Things had moved so quickly I hadn’t had time to think about the reality of what was about to happen to me, to my brain, or to my life.

The Procedure

I left my friend and boyfriend sitting in my hospital room so I could get a pre-op MRI. I don’t have a problem with closed spaces, or noise, and I’d been fine during an MRI the week before to diagnose the tumor. So, when my nurse asked me if I needed anything to help me stay calm, I told her no. This was a mistake.

I didn’t really anticipate how LONG I needed to be in the MRI, because the one I’d had a week earlier lasted only 45 minutes. I also overestimated the strength of my emotional state. This time, the technicians needed to take pictures of the tumor to make sure it hadn’t grown. Then they also needed to image my entire spine to make sure there were no additional tumors. I was in the MRI for two hours. Alone. With my brain. My broken brain.

They tell you to hold as still as you can, but I sobbed for the entire last half hour. After the tumor was out, during a follow-up scan, one of the technicians told me that I was “a legend down here” for what had apparently been an out-of-the-ordinary, marathon, late night session.

Adding insult to injury, when I finished the MRI, the technicians placed garish glow-in-the-dark stickers, ringed in dark marker on my face. These stickers would serve as a map for the machines the next day, but that night I looked like someone stuck Lifesavers to my forehead.

Modeling a face full of stickers the night before the surgery. Photo by Nicholas Podolak.
Modeling a face full of stickers the morning of the surgery. Photo by Nicholas Podolak

When they wheeled me back to my room, I was still crying nonsensically and apologizing to absolutely everyone for losing my shit. This is how I entered into the first meeting between my family who had arrived from New Jersey and my new boyfriend, because, on top of brain surgery imploding any sense of normalcy in our lives, dating is still one of life’s most awkward rituals.

I eventually calmed down and tried to sleep, which anyone who has ever spent time in the hospital knows is not easy. It was morning and surgery time in the blink of an eye. They transferred me to the pre-op clinic, where both of my surgeons (one an ear, nose, and throat specialist and one a neuro specialist) came and talked to me. They ran through the procedure. They initialed the parts of my body they intended to cut. They explained the risks, all the things that could go wrong. I spoke to two anesthesiologists. I spoke to my nurse.  I signed the consent forms. Everyone asked if I had questions – I did, I just didn’t know it, so I asked nothing. I gave my family a goodbye hug, and was wheeled away.

The last thing I remember is seeing one of my surgeons, and being asked questions – Who am I? Where am I? What day is it? Why am I there? Then there is nothing until I came to in the PACU,  confused, upset, and angry.

I’ve been actively not thinking about the reality of the surgical procedure itself, because it is overwhelming to think that multiple people have literally seen my brain. My surgeons cut through the bone behind my right ear, and, because their approach cut a nerve completely, they destroyed my ability to hear on this side. This means I’m now deaf in my right ear.  Part of the surgery involved packing the hole in my skull with fat taken from my belly button. This is what made the bulb at my abdomen to collect fluid necessary.

My Dad and I taking a hospital selfie. I was rocking the taped on glasses, him the mask and, yes, that is a cigar.
My Dad and I taking a hospital selfie. I was rocking the taped on glasses, him the mask and, yes, that is a cigar.

My family had been told it would be an all day surgery, but it took far longer than anticipated. One of the things the doctors had warned me might go wrong – “stickiness” of the tumor – did. The tumor was clinging to my brain, refusing to let go so easily. So my surgeons took extra time, ultimately clocking in at 12 hours after teasing out every piece. But they got it all, and were able to save my seventh nerve and thus my ability to control and feel my face.  While there is no such thing as an ideal brain tumor surgery, my team got it all and avoided any damage to my facial nerves.

I think the decision to move quickly on the surgery was the right one, but it definitely didn’t give me time to process what was happening. I’m certain that contributed to my performance in the PACU. I woke up in a completely new reality that I wasn’t prepared to face. Toward the end of the day on Friday, my memories of the PACU become a little more solid. Apparently, I kicked off my hospital socks as part of my defiant outburst, and I remember being told I had the nicest feet there, which is amazingly awkward upon recollection. I remember my Mom and Dad being there. I remember feeling like the world was spinning. I remember hating the lights. I remember wanting to sleep, which I did a lot.

Recovery

Late Friday night they moved me from the PACU to the Neurosciences floor. Saturday is a bit of a blur too, but I was definitely more with it than I was in the PACU. There were visitors and flowers mixed in among the vitals checks, finger sticks, and medications. Even though I was still hooked to the IV, they took away the catheter, the bulb at my belly button and the heart monitor. That helped a lot. I started to focus more on the donut around my head.

A close up of my bandage while I napped. Photo by John Podolak
A close up of my bandage while I napped. Photo by John Podolak

My hair was up in a knot, Pebbles Flintstone style, with a bandage wrapping around my head. There was a hard plastic piece over my right ear wrapped in more bandages. It was heavy. I felt like a bobble head anytime I tried to move, a sensation definitely aided by the fact that my vertigo was intense. My doctors warned me that the vertigo wasn’t going to go away with the surgery and was likely to get worse before it got better: they were right. I also struggled with my vision for the first few days after surgery. I had a hard time focusing and found things to be more blurry with my contacts in than my glasses. Combine my need for glasses with the bandage around my head, and I had a problem, thus I spent my hospital stay with glasses taped to my face.

I spent a week in the hospital following the procedure, which was an interesting experience in its own right. I had a constant stream of visitors, and was never alone, which helped tremendously to keep my spirits up. I fully utilized my ability to request quiet time for everyone so I could drop off for a nap. Soon I itched to get out of bed and walk, and I was surprised at how difficult it had become. Since my sense of balance was damaged, I wobbled and lurched around like I had consumed a few too many beers. I put my visitors to work, helping keep me upright, while I leaned on my IV pole and walked up and down the hallway in my slipper socks.

Walking the hospital hallway with my friend Emma. Photo by John Podolak.
Walking the hospital hallway with my friend Emma. Photo by John Podolak.

Hospitals themselves are ironically not restful places, particularly the neuro floor. The beds are pressure sensitive, so the nurses can tell if patients are getting up on their own when they aren’t supposed to be.  Apparently this happens all the time, prompting a stream of running feet as nurses rush to make sure no one falls over. Getting woken up every four hours for a vitals check, and finger sticks to check my insulin levels wasn’t conducive to sleep either. With the bandage on my head I was unable to shower. After a week in the hospital, this was not exactly pretty, though I tried my best to clean up and feel normal (never really successful, but I tried.)

A week after the surgery, they removed the bandage and I was cleared to leave. The vertigo continued intensely, and traveling even the short distance between the hospital and my apartment was rough. I spent a week at my apartment in Boston with my Mom taking care of me. I was still having trouble walking around without tipping over, and I was unable to do things like wash my own hair. I napped a lot, but everyday spent more hours awake and more time on my feet.

Pre-stitch removal, a close up of my incision. Photo by John Podolak.
Pre-stitch removal, a close up of my incision two weeks after surgery. Photo by John Podolak.
Three weeks after the surgery, starting to heal. Photo by John Podolak
Four weeks after the surgery and starting to heal. Photo by John Podolak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday April 11, my stitches came out. As I celebrated this milestone, I frustratingly also developed a seroma, a build-up of fluid around my belly button incision. I found out this is also a common complication from liposuction. The sudden onset of swelling was really unnerving, but my doctors answered my phone calls late on a Friday night to set my mind at ease. I can’t say enough good things about my doctors. What times we live in when you can text a surgeon a picture of your belly at 10:30pm on a Friday and get a helpful, calming response.

Even with this complication, my doctors have said they are happy with my progress. I know it will be a long time before I can say I feel like myself, but that is the goal I am working toward.

Part three: Aftermath