I had it done May 19th. The surgeon was very pleased with his work. He found 3 compressions and tumors. One was very obvious, one was less so and one was hiding. Luckily the doctor had a hunch and followed it down further along my brain stem. At the base where the brain stem and spinal cord come together I had another. The doctor is confident he got them all.
I woke up in ICU but I only remember a few things. I spent 3 days in ICU. I couldn’t keep anything down. Doc said this was common with brain surgery. I also have a tingly feeling on most of the right side of my face. Like Novocaine wearing off. My lips are numb, my cheek, my ear, my tongue and the right side of the back of my skull. Doc said this will diminish with time. He said the biggest compression was deep. As it heals he feels the numbness will go away.
The pain from surgery is not bad. My shoulder is the worst part. I can’t move my right arm very much and I have a knot . I use a heating pad and try to work it as PT showed me. I am taking a few Tylenol a day but not because my head hurts. I have had a few headaches but nothing bad. I am not supposed to bend over, lift or drive. I should be able to start doing these things next week. I did bend over last week and fell. Nothing horrible, just ended up on my rear at the side of the bed until someone came in and helped me up. I don’t bend over now.
We are now 17 days out and I itch. My head itches, my face itches. Every thing is healing but ohhhh does it itch. When I wear my hair down you can’t tell at all but when its up I get comments and stares. I get tired of people making comments so I wear my hair down often. Overall, I am doing well. I hope this helps anyone thinking of having MDV.