Yes, it has been One Year

Greetings! I have made it past a year since surgery (November 3), and thought I'd give a project update. The project went way askew from my original estimate of being back to "normal" and to work in 3 months. Go figure that after years of managing successful projects that I would blow the timeline on a silly brain tumor. However, despite numerous re-calibrations, improvement has continued steadily at a very slow slope.


On November 14 of last year, I was barely moving, and had the following "issues"

Right facial weakness - This has greatly improved in the past year. I can now smile, which is huge. I started facial retraining therapy last month, and my face is noticeably improved. I still have some "weakness/paralysis" that may continue to improve for the next few months.

Right arm weakness - This improved over the first few months of the recovery year. I can now write. There are times that my hand doesn't write very well, but I have never been known for neat handwriting. It is legible at least and I can write out my own checks again.

Right hearing gone - no change since the auditory nerve was removed in surgery. I still have pretty bad tinnitus (ringing in the ear). I am adjusting to single sided deafness, but find it quite frustrating at times. Certain settings are less than ideal because background noise and music dominate.

Headaches - this wasn't listed under my inventory of a year ago, because I was still in the window of "normal" recovery headaches. After three months, it became evident that the headaches were not going away. This is my biggest problem remaining. I have headaches daily, and they are disabling. I try to enjoy life between headaches and am still trying to find relief. The cure appears to be time, which I don't have an estimate on.

Bottom line from a year ago is that the tumor is gone, I am alive, and grateful. I continue to appreciate all thoughts and prayers!!