What a relief!
Surgery was only five & one half hours, less than anticipated. We met with Dr. LaRue (ear surgeon & Dr. Piper (neurosurgeon).
The really good news... it's benign and it's all out!
They were very upbeat..as far as we know the facial nerve is intact, this was the main nerve concern because of all this nerve affects. We may see some symptoms of facial nerve involvement due to post op swelling, however it should be temporary.
Auditory nerve: Latest estimate is 80% chance hearing will be OK. This is up from 50-50 pre op estimate, so more good news. We are well prepared if hearing is compromised, it has always been the least of worries going in. May take several days to weeks to know.
Brain stem: Although close there was no involvement & this was the very scary part!
Balance nerve: this is the tough part. The tumor was part of the balance nerve so it had to be sacrificed which means Kathy has a few days (2-4 at the most we hope) of spinning room, dizziness & yuk (you can guess what that means) as the brain learns how to balance again minus one of the two signals it is used to receiving. It will all pass & we don't anticipate any lasting effects. Of course we all know Kathy had to be a little off balance to marry me. Plus another hole in the head? Geez.
We have seen Kathy in recovery & she looks pretty good, color is back, has a 10 of 10 headache (they gave her more morphine) & of course is pretty much out of it. Nice bandage, reminds Mom of Johhny Depp in a 'Pirates' movie. Plain white though, we'll have to find something more colourful. Maybe pink with skull & cross bones.
So now we wait for her to be transferred to ICU. It's going to be a long night & some long days days ahead.
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