What a difference 4 weeks makes

Four weeks ago, I was in the midst of 12 hour surgery. Not something I want to do again EVER! I am happy to report that I think I have turned a corner and am feeling better and stronger every day. I was taking Tylenol with Codeine fairly regularly, but haven't had anything stronger than ibuprofen since last Wednesday! No headaches to speak of, and the awful pressure bandage on my head is gone for good (and has been for a week or so).

Mark and I were back in Iowa City yesterday for a check-up. Unfortunately, the visit started with an audiogram. I didn't quite understand why this was being done, since there was no question I had lost the hearing in my right ear. They put me in a sound proof room, and piped in various sounds for 30 minutes through things stuck in my ears, and guess what? I couldn't hear anything in my right ear! I knew that was the case, but having someone confirm it, and explain the test results was like being kicked in the shins repeatedly. It just sucked. After some more waiting, when we saw one of my doctors, the first thing she did was apologize for the audiogram. She said it never should have been scheduled in the first place, and was sorry that I had to do it.

My doctors looked at my incision, looked inside my ear, asked about how I was feeling, and have given me the go ahead to get back to living life without restrictions - including back to work on Monday! We talked about my facial nerve, and how it is still "asleep." When they removed the tumor, the facial nerve was stretched very, very, very thin over the tumor. Now that the tumor is gone, it needs time to readjust and just start firing again - I am sure there are much more technical explanations for this, I just don't know them! Dr. Gantz expressed his opinion that it will happen it just needs time (weeks, months, up to a year??). When I told him I hoped he was right his response was "I'm not wrong very often." I'm banking on that. In the meantime, my smile is very one-side, and my eye still won't blink, so taking care of my eye is a priority. We go back to see the docs in three months for a follow-up.

The highlight of my day yesterday was picking up Kinsey. Since coming home from the hospital, I have not been able to do that. I have certainly had lots of time where she has been handed to me, and good cuddles, but being able to stand-up and hold her was a great feeling! It also goes a long way to making me feel I can take care of my family.

I have started driving. I don't think I am ready for any road trips, but I feel comfortable getting around town.

Hearing on one side is taking a bit of getting used to. If I am walking with someone, or sitting down next to someone, I have to remember to have them on my left side if I want any chance of having a conversation. We went out to dinner last night (a first for me in four weeks!), and I did pretty well in the restaurant. I probably asked quite a few times for things to be repeated, but overall pretty good I think. What I miss the most is known as sound localization - the ability to know where a sound is coming from. If you are able to hear with both ears, sound comes in one ear, and also travels around your head and goes in the other ear fractions of a second later. Your brain is able to process that noise and determine where the sound is coming from. Since I only take in sound from one side, I have no clue if something is to my right, left, upstairs, downstairs or in the next room. It is very odd, and will take adjusting to.

I recently finished reading a book. In the final pages, one of the main characters is summing up her philosophy on living life. It goes like:

To simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Go out there with your passion and your electric typewriter and work hard at ... something. Change lives through art maybe. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.

Other than the electric typewriter, sounds pretty good to me! The book is One Day by David Nicholls. A good read, I very much enjoyed!