Monday, December 3, 2007 - Pre-Op Prep.:
I returned to Massachusetts General for a full day of appointments and interviews. There was a winter storm warning out for Sunday night and Monday morning, so a friend arranged for us to stay with friends of hers who lived near the subway (in Boston, it’s called the ‘T’). We trudged through the snow early Monday morning and arrived at the requested time of 7:00 AM. I had the usual, vitals signs, EKG, and labs and was interviewed by two nurse practitioners – one for anesthesia, one for nursing. Very thorough, but very draining. We finished early and took a bagel break, then went to see Dr. Barker. He asked about any changes since he saw me in July; other than the increased spasms on the left, I had developed a buzzing noise in my head and some spasms on the right. He didn’t know if the MVD would affect the tinnitus; and he is concerned that th e spasms on the right are not just related to the hyperactivity on the left “spilling” over to the right. He made a note in the operative permit that the procedure is not anticipated to affect the right side. I told him to take good care of my hearing, and if the spasms on the right didn’t go away, I’d come back next year and we could do this all again. He replied very solemnly that he would take good care of my hearing in any event. I found out later that a great deal of Dr. Barker’s work is with acoustic schwannomas, tumors actually on the 8th CN – the hearing nerve – and this struck me as a good sign. He is very familiar with how it can respond to stress. A chest x-ray, a repeat MRI, and a hearing test followed the appointment with Dr. Barker. The snow was starting up again, but we made it back to the car in time to load up and drive back to New Hampshire ahead of the rush hour traffic. A good, very intense day.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007:
I was anointed at the College chapel by the chaplain and fellow faculty member in Religious Studies, accompanied by the Campus Minister. It was very moving. I asked Mary Ellen (Campus Minister) to choose the reading, and she chose the gospel about Jesus healing the paralytic man who was let down through the roof of the house by his friends. In the milling about of the crowd around Jesus’ house, I was revisiting the organized chaos of the hospital, and could feel its healing hands. Like the man in the story, I had an abundance of good friends who were “carrying me” in a variety of ways.
Thursday, December 6, 2007:
A pre-op haircut, timed to get me through a month!
Friday, December 7, 2007:
Taken out to dinner by friends to the best restaurant in Nashua
Wednesday, December 12 2007 - 2 Days Before:
A few hours of relaxing and sharing with friends who prayed with me, a nice oasis amidst the calm of final grades. My son Tomas arrived later, in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
Thursday, December 13 2007 – The Day Before:
A major winter storm made for a 4 hour and 15 minute trip to cover the 50 miles from my house to the hotel near the hospital. I had set the hotel arrangements up to beat the weather, not be out in it! I am up in the early a.m. hours finishing final grades for the fall semester.
Friday, December 14 2007 – "MVD-Day":
We report to same-day admission, and after changing into hospital attire and getting checked in, I have a 15 minute visit with Tomas and then am off to the Operating Room. I meet the anesthesia team and Dr. Ferreira, Dr. Barker’s resident, and then I don’t even remember being put to sleep. Tomas goes back to the hotel and takes a nap before checking out. He returns to the hospital and finally hears from Dr. Barker at 12:40 PM that the surgery was finished at 12:20 PM and that everything went well. The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room and taking note simultaneously of a "QUIET FACE" and hearing in both ears, although there is fullness in the left ear (expected) and a harsh, metallic edge to the sounds on that side. I get transferred to the Neuro. Intensive Care Unit, where Drs. Barker and Ferreira come to check on me. “Dr. Barker, I love you!” I call out, and everybody chuckles. They tell me that they found an artery, what they expected. Even in my groggy state, I ask about checking for other sites. Yes, they looked around but they were also under a time constraint, as my hearing was showing some sensitivity. I know that spasms can return, but right now I am ecstatic. Other than the ear fullness and pain at the incision site, I am in a pleasant, groggy kind of comfort zone. The arterial line is pulled. My son and daughter visit, and life is good. I barely peck at din ner. At night I am aware of being exorbitantly, deliriously happy.
Saturday, December 15 2007 – The Day After:
My catheter is removed, and then I experience the worst of the entire ordeal. The first time out of bed I have motion sickness, complete with nausea and vomiting. I get medicated, and breakfast is a few bites better than dinner the night before had been. One of my two IV’s is pulled. I will be transferred to a regular neuro. unit, but right now there are no beds. Tomas comes late morning; he stayed at his sister’s hotel with her last night, took her to the airport early, and returned to the hotel for a nap. I ask him to email Jack an update for HFSA on my surgery. Lunch is overly dry arroz con pollo; I barely peck at it, but I am aware that I have no problems with taste. After lunch I move to the regular unit. Of all the stuff Tomas is chauffeuring around in the car, he left the bag I packed for the hospital at my house, so he goes up there to tend to the cats and to retrieve the bag and my laptop. I can’t believe that patients take their laptops to the hospital with them! He returns later that afternoon with all my stuff, including my laptop. I also have my cell phone, and I start calling and emailing other family and friends. It will take me much of Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
Sunday, December 16 2007 – 2 Days Post-Op:
I sleep almost none at all last night, just restlessness. I finally showered early in the a.m. and put on real pajamas. The television doesn’t work, so the nurses have left messages to have them come fix it before the Patriots play this afternoon (never done; I watch the game on my roommate’s television). Drs. Barker and Ferreira come to see me; they remove my dressing, and I ask a few more questions: the artery compressing the nerve was a common one, nothing particularly difficult, a standard, middle-of-the-road case. The 12:20 PM completion time was about right, not really any longer than normal. Dr. Barker does mostly HFS MVDs (there are others on staff who do MVDs and a variety of treatments on Trigeminal Neuralgia), says it's okay to list him on the HFSA website (his CV is publicly accessible online anyway), but that he doesn’t diagnose or manage other facial dystonias. I am technically discharged and may leave the floor, so I go down and get a real latte from the hospital coffee shop. Occupational and physical therapies check me out as good to go, too. However, because of the atrocious weather (snow, wintery mix, wind – a real winter nor’easter), the hospital doesn’t want anyone to leave. After all the excitement of running around and talking to folks on the phone, I have hit my first “wall” and am in bed with a pain pill for the rest of the afternoon. I get acquainted with my roommate – her husband has HFS! He has been taking Botox, but is getting tired of the needles. Pat had been reluctant to consider surgery (their neurologist suggested he consider it), but after seeing me, she agrees that maybe they should think about it. When there is a break in the weather Sunday evening, we decide to go ahead and leave.
Monday, December 17 2007 – 3 Days Post-Op:
Even though I think I am taking it easy on Monday, I realize this a.m. that (like everybody else), I have already done too much. During the night I have a twitch and a little tingling; I will definitely rest, trying to avoid any stress and fatigue that will prevent the irritable nerve from calming down. I also take note that the right side spasms have disappeared, at least for now.
Tuesday, December 18 2007 – 4 Days Post-Op:
Today will be a couch day. A friend from the nursing faculty comes by to help me wash my hair without letting the suture line get wet. I feel so much better with clean hair! Tomas leaves with her to catch a bus to the airport, and I am alone for the first time. And still exorbitantly, deliriously happy.
ONE YEAR UPDATE AS OF 01/08/09 The left side has remained spasm free, but during the late spring and early summer I developed symptoms of post-palsy residuals (general tightness on that side and extra eyelid movements (synkinesis, not spasms) associated with certain mouth or lip movements. At first I thought the tightness meant that the spasms were returning, but they never did, thank goodness! After the right-side MVD in July, I decided to see a facial nerve specialist about facial rehabilitation for these symptoms. In September I started physical therapy and neuromuscular retraining for these symptoms. So far I am very pleased with the results; my face is nearly normal again, and even with these minor issues, I am spasm free, which is what it is all about.
For details of my HFS experience leading up to my MVD's see my Bell's Palsy Experience.
For details of my HFS experience leading up to my MVD see my Personal HFS History.
For details of my subsequent MVD, see my MVD #2 Diary.
Permission granted the HFSA to post MVD Diary on website.
Ann Riggs, July 28, 2008
Permission granted the HFSA to post MVD Diary on website.
Ann Riggs, February 17, 2008 (Updated 01/08/09)