Tag Archives: Surgery

Collateral Damage

Health, My Personal Life, , , , ,
My left knee directly after surgery accompanied by ice packs.

My left knee directly after surgery accompanied by ice packs.

In January 2014, I fell crossing the street. In my defense, it was a damp day that felt like it could either rain or snow, and the streets were already slick with moisture. I was hurrying to cross while I still had the light, and, right as I was in the middle of the road, my right foot shot out from under me. I had slipped on the white paint of the crosswalk, essentially doing an unintended split. My left leg was behind me, and I landed on it, putting all of my weight on my left knee and winding up in a sitting position. The fall hurt, in the way that most falls do. I was scraped and bruised (but mostly embarrassed). But I got myself up, and continued on my way to work, thinking little of it in the days and weeks afterwards.

This fall was one of the signs I missed. Looking backward, it has become clear why I fell. To be fair, at the time, I didn’t know that I was walking around with a benign brain tumor altering my system of balance. The bruises on my knee were low priority compared to diagnosing and addressing my other symptoms, hearing loss and vertigo. Everything in my life became centered on the symptoms of the tumor – symptoms that wouldn’t be diagnosed until two months later.

As badly as the tumor damaged my ability to balance, the surgery to remove it made it worse, albeit temporarily.  I needed physical therapy (vestibular rehab) to retrain my brain to balance, which helped me get back on my feet. While I was working on my balance, I noticed a nagging pain in my left knee. I shrugged it off as mere stiffness from having been inactive for so long while recovering. But it didn’t go away and hurt more as I became more active.  In the following months, I would start to think that this knee injury was like my brain tumor’s last “screw you”– the final parting shot.

Fed up with being sick, I got good at ignoring the discomfort.  I wanted so badly to feel like myself again and get back to my normal. The last thing I wanted was something else wrong with me that needed medical attention. So, even though I knew the pain in my knee wasn’t normal, I gritted my teeth and just dealt. It was nearly a year later before I realized  my knee pain had gotten much worse. While I can be ostrich-like with my head in the sand when it comes to my health, the knee pain of spring 2015 was something I could no longer ignore.

I started with my primary care provider, who recommended an orthopedic specialist. I had pain in several different parts of my left knee: in the front near the patella (knee cap), along the inside of the joint, and towards the back. This variety of pain sources made it a little more difficult to pinpoint the problem, but I agreed to start with some physical therapy to see if that could help. The PT did help some of the pain, especially along the inside of the knee, which was diagnosed as pes anserine bursitis. Basically, the fluid-filled pad cushioning the bones of my knee was inflamed and tender.  Even after the PT, there was still lingering pain in the knee, and it just didn’t feel right, so I asked the orthopedist for an MRI.

Knee all wrapped up in bandages a few days after the surgery.

Knee all wrapped up in bandages a few days after the surgery.

The MRI showed a lateral tear in my meniscus. The meniscus is the rubbery cartilage disc that cushions the tibia (shin) from rubbing against the femur (thigh). Typically, meniscus tears are caused by forceful twisting of the knee– exactly what I did when crossing that street. Next to my tear was a bonus cyst, which was adding to the pain. The orthopedist and I concluded that, if physical therapy hadn’t helped enough, the only remaining option was surgery.

After what I’d been through with the brain tumor, I was hesitant to have another surgery. It was hard to be so dependent on other people after a procedure, and waking up from anesthesia was a horrible experience. Rationally, I knew the knee surgery wouldn’t be the same as the brain tumor surgery, but I still couldn’t get motivated to actually schedule it. Pain won out though, and I had to accept that I needed the surgery if things were going to get better. At 27, it didn’t make a lot of sense to resign myself to living with constant pain. I struggled going up and down stairs, couldn’t walk far distances, and running was completely out of the question.

I decided that the beginning of March made the most sense for when to have the surgery. It’s when Boston usually starts to thaw, so I would not likely have to contend with much snow. I also timed it between travel and social requirements, so I would have time to recover. My parents were able to take time off of work to come up to Boston to stay with me, which was particularly helpful; I’m pretty sure I would have started clawing at the walls if left alone during recovery. Of course the timing wasn’t great for work – but it’s never completely convenient to take two weeks off from your daily activities. There was a lot of emotion built into getting my knee fixed because of what I’d been through when I injured it, but I knew it was the right choice (and it was really the only option for feeling better).

The surgery itself was on March 1st, and went as smoothly as possible. I could have had it at a hospital in Boston, but it made more sense to go outside the city: it left the hospital for emergency cases, which is what they’re designed for, and moved my outpatient procedure to a facility that it was designed for. I suspected that the outpatient facility would be calmer and make for a more focused experience, which it was. I also didn’t want to be in the very same PACU that I’d had my brain tumor surgery experience in; I felt like that place would bring up memories and emotions that I didn’t want to relive.

Knee without the bandages, about a week after the surgery.

Knee without the bandages, about a week after the surgery. You can see my surgeon’s initials where he signed my knee before the procedure.

It was all over in a couple of hours. I didn’t have nearly as much trouble waking up in the PACU this time, although I did get some momentary vertigo as I was coming to, which was scary given that I was still pretty out of it. Mercifully, it passed quickly and things went back to normal. Within a couple hours, I was dressed and able to get in the car to go home. Once home, it was couch and Netflix. I was only on the crutches they gave me for two days, and, after that, I started walking around on my own.

I’m going to need physical therapy, but I can already tell that the pain from the torn meniscus is gone. Not that there’s no pain–recovery can be tough and there is still a little of the bursitis that I had before–but I can tell the nagging, limiting pain is gone. After compensating for one weak knee with the other strong leg, I now have to regain strength and steadiness and equivalence between both.  Having spent most of my life with no health issues, and now having undergone two surgeries in two years, I definitely have a different perspective on what not feeling well means. I am optimistic that, finally, I’ll be able to feel better.  I will get back the way I was before the brain tumor and balance problems, before the knee pain. It’s an opportunity that I know many people who endure similar illnesses and injuries don’t get – the chance to go back to full health.

Lost and Found in the Healthcare System

Cancer, Health, My Personal Life, , , ,

When you’re a patient in a hospital, you don’t need shoes. You’re not on your feet much, and they’ve got you covered with socks that have little white nubs on the bottom to keep you from slipping. This is why I didn’t notice that my shoes were missing until several days (I didn’t keep track of time very well ) into my hospital stay.

I was in a hospital for surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma (also called a vestibular schwannoma) that was growing on the eighth cerebral nerve running from my brain to my right ear. I’d checked into the hospital unexpectedly. I’d woken up that morning with increased symptoms and had gone to see my doctor straight from work. She recommended surgery the next morning, and wanted me to check into the hospital immediately. She told me to just walk to the emergency department, which was right across the street from her office – in fact for several blocks the area is nothing but hospitals and medical buildings. I walked in wearing my work clothes and a pair of black leather riding boots, and explained who I was and why I was there.

The first few hours after I was admitted were chaotic. There had been a terrible fire in Boston that day. Two firefighters lost their lives, and the emergency department at the hospital where I was treated received several patients from the scene. Since my surgery was unscheduled and my arrival unexpected, no one had clear instructions about where I was supposed to go.

As a patient, you have to belong to someone. A doctor has to say, “I’m responsible for this person”. This is the doctor who signs the forms, and at the end of the day is ultimately in charge of your care. My problem wasn’t that no one claimed me, it was that too many doctors claimed me. I had a doctor from the emergency department, a doctor for my ear, a doctor for my brain, and my primary care doctor attached to my case. There were conflicting stories about where I should be, so I was shuffled around a lot. The problem was that I didn’t fit neatly into one of the categories that medical specialties are divided into. I wasn’t just an unexpected arrival, I also wasn’t an easy to assign case. This meant that the hospital staff who were giving me instructions were themselves receiving conflicting instructions.

My trusty boots, found after their hospital adventure.

My trusty boots, found after their hospital adventure.

In the emergency department I was told I needed to be admitted in a building across the street. I offered to walk (according to Google Maps it’s just five minutes on foot), but was told that wasn’t allowed and had to be transported by ambulance. It probably goes without saying that I felt ridiculous. Once there I was told I actually needed to be in a different building on the side of the street I started on. Again, I wasn’t allowed to walk there, so that meant another ambulance ride. Once I arrived in the right building, I was assigned a room but was taken down for several hours to the imaging department. Finally, I arrived back to the room where I’d spend the night before the surgery. Somewhere along the route, I removed my boots in exchange for the slipper socks. By the time I settled into one place for the night, with 12 hours of neuro-surgery looming ahead of me, getting a hug from my Mom was far more important than the boots. I’d forgotten all about them.

After the surgery, I wasn’t in any sort of condition where I could think about shoes. I spent an entire day in surgery, and another lost in the fog of trying to wake up post-anesthesia. The type of tumor I had affected my balance, so walking was a struggle. A slow, plodding lap of the hallway outside my room, propped up by friends and family was all I could manage. After a few days, I started to pull myself together and remembered the belongings I’d had with me when I arrived at the hospital. My work clothes, my backpack, my grey wool pea coat, my boots. My family assured me they had everything, but when they went to show me, the clothes, bag and coat were there – but no boots. Somewhere in the shuffle, my boots had gotten lost.

For inanimate objects, I relate a little too much to my boots. I was never lost per se, but as a patient if your condition straddles medical specialties you can feel passed around. People are certain you belong to someone, somewhere, they just aren’t exactly sure where that is.

Every time I talk about how I had a brain tumor, I feel guilty. Guilty because that’s not quite accurate, and the science communicator in me can’t help but cringe. An acoustic neuroma grows from the nerve sheath cells that coat the eighth cerebral nerve, which controls your hearing. My tumor was in my inner ear – affecting both my hearing and my sense of balance. To classify my tumor as a brain tumor seemed off to me, after all it wasn’t growing from the cells that make up the brain itself. Yet, it was right next to my brain. Sticking to my brain, in fact. Sticking to my brain in such a way that hours of surgery were needed to get my grey matter to finally relinquish it. It was certainly brain surgery, but it wasn’t just a brain tumor. It was in my inner ear growing on the nerve. This is why I didn’t just have one surgeon, I had two (well, many people were in the operating room). One of my surgeons was a specialist in skull base neuro-surgery for the brain and one was an ear, nose, and throat surgeon for the inner ear. I was very lucky to have both of these doctors on my team.

As much as it was my medical team, I certainly wasn’t the one steering the ship that day. Since I was in an anesthesia induced stupor I wasn’t the team captain – so then who was? Two surgeons of equal standing, each with a different medical specialty, each with their own purpose for being there. Who was in charge? Luckily, my doctors have worked as partners for a while and there were no power struggles over my care, but it did come into question while I was recovering. Whose patient was I? Where did I belong?

The hospital floors were broken up by medical specialty. Did I belong on the neuro floor with the stroke patients? Or did I belong on the ear, nose, and throat floor with the patients having surgery for a cochlear implant? Where was I supposed to be? In the end, the hospital split the difference. My ear, nose, and throat surgeon became the primary on my case, but I spent my time recovering on the neuro floor. They sorted it out, and carved out a niche for me to belong, but the lines weren’t clear. I didn’t fit into the boxes our current system for dividing medical specialties silo patients into.

My boots didn’t fit either. We found out that the reason my boots were lost was because they didn’t fit in the bag they’d given me for my personal belongings. We had everything that had made it into the bag, but the boots had been unintentionally abandoned. When you don’t fit in the box, or the bag, assigned to you, your choices can be limited. You run the risk of slipping through the cracks. You can try to squeeze and jam your way into the appropriate container, but it won’t meet all of your needs. You can try to break out of the box, but you might get left behind. The human body works as a unit. Conditions like mine have effects on multiple systems, and don’t fit easily into a category. Special attention is required to make sure that patients who don’t meet the definitions make it to the right destination, and receive the right care.

Ultimately, the hospital lost and found tracked down my boots and delivered them back to me. They figured out to whom, and where they belonged. With me too, the staff sorted out to whom, and where I belonged. I received excellent care, and all of the support I needed for the effects the tumor had on my ear and hearing and the effects it had on my brain and balance. The whole experience left me wondering though, if we can’t do better than the lost and found? I’m not about to suggest ways to overhaul our healthcare system, because I don’t have any, but if I’d had more than one bag for my belongings (or maybe no bags at all) I might not have lost the boots in the first place.

Part Three: Aftermath

Health, My Personal Life, , ,

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

Health, My Personal Life, , ,

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