Testing your hearing is more important than you think. If you had asked several years ago, if I should be concerned about my hearing, I would have replied not yet, I’m too young. I was so wrong. Take my advice and protect your hearing now, before you lose it.
This is what I suggest you do this month, or at least start the process. You never know when you have waited too long, to save your hearing.
Continue reading “Testing Your Hearing”
If you had asked me in early 2019 if I should be concerned about my hearing, I would have replied, not yet, I’m too young. I was so wrong. With October being Protect your Hearing Month, I’ve decided to encourage my readers to avoid what I have gone through. Protect your hearing now, before you lose it.
This is what I suggest you do this month, or at least get the process going. You never know when you have waited too long to save your hearing.
Continue reading “October is Protect Your Hearing Month – 4 Things to Do Now – Reposted”
My father taught me how to ride a bike in the JC Penneys parking lot across the street from our home on a Sunday afternoon. JC Penneys was closed on Sundays back then. There was plenty of open space for me to learn in. Later in life, he taught me how to drive a car in a high school parking lot when the school was closed. I always thought that once I learned how to do these things, I would never forget how. I didn’t forget how to do both of them, but riding my bike again at 65 would be a challenge.
Eventually, following surgery to remove a brain tumor, I had to drive my car again and see if I could do it successfully. That was easy, even though I waited months to do it. Riding my bike again at 65, following two surgeries, was more difficult.
Continue reading “Riding My Bike Again at 65”
I last wrote about this journey in April. At that time I was anticipating receiving a call to schedule my BAHA surgery. I expected that call to come any day. It didn’t.
BAHA is a bone attached hearing aid. It’s a type of cochlear implant. It is my possibility of once again being able to distinguish where sounds come from. Until my BAHA is attached and I receive the exterior part, I cannot figure out where people are that are talking to me. Whether they are behind me or to the left of me, I have no idea. It could be a difficult thing if a stranger were sneaking up on me. My husband, who should know this is a problem, will walk up behind me and start talking. That is when panic takes over. I look to my right and to my left and then behind me until I find him.
Continue reading “My Journey Back to Normal Ends”
July was productive. Finishing the one quilt has gotten me more excited about the others. I have exceeded my goal of reading books. Maintained my weight, but didn’t lose anything. I’m not giving up yet. If you have goals set, don’t give up on yourself either. We have the time to do it if we put in the effort.
It has been about three and 1/2 months since I saw my audiologist to see if any hearing remained in my left ear. I had suspected I would have none and I didn’t. The following week I went to my primary neurosurgeon for my two-month follow-up appointment. I came with a list of questions. Right after the surgery, my mouth tasted like salt when I had a glass of water. It had now changed to a metal taste. My doctor assured me that it should go away within a year.
At the time of my appointment, I was still having a lot of balance issues. Pulling a sweatshirt over my head, closing my eyes to wash my face or hair, and turning my head too quickly to the right or left would cause the feeling of potentially falling. My doctor would have physical therapy contact me. He said that I would probably need 8 to 12 weeks of therapy. I was frustrated about not driving yet, but the physical therapy would get me to the point of driving if all went as planned.
Continue reading “My Journey Back to Normal – Falls Behind”
When I woke up after five hours of surgery, my life had changed completely. I had known it would, but I hadn’t realized it would be so difficult. I felt worse than I had expected. This wasn’t just any old surgery. I had had a craniotomy. A portion of my skull had been removed and replaced, allowing my brain tumor to be removed in the process. I now have a plate on my skull as extra protection. For more of my story follow this link: https://growingoldereveryday.com/protect-your-hearing-before-its-too-late/
In reality, my life hadn’t changed completely, only small parts of it. I remained married with two children and four grandchildren. The rest of my family remained intact. We still lived in our same home, with our same neighbors. Only a small part of my life had changed, but it has felt huge, as I am living through it. Now, at eight weeks post-surgery, I wonder if I will ever go back to what I knew as normal a few months ago.
Continue reading “My Journey Back to Normal”Since I was diagnosed with my vestibular schwannomas brain tumor, life had been going really well. I’m aware of what to expect in surgery, I have a surgery date and I’ve been following through with the pre-op appointments. My headaches seem to be more frequent and more painful, plus both my ears and my jaw hurts, but other than that everything seemed to be going well. I’m hoping that will all be relieved after I recover, or at least most of it. If you ask me, I will tell you “I’m fine.”
And then last week happened. On Monday, I had a phone appointment to go over my prescriptions and previous surgeries. Tuesday, I had a phone appointment with a physician’s assistant to go over my surgery and how I would feel afterward. He wanted to make sure I understood that there was no guarantee I would retain any of my hearing in my left ear. And he told me that I would likely have nausea, vertigo and maybe vomiting right after surgery. Also, I should expect pain where they removed the area of my skull to remove the tumor.
Continue reading “I’m Really Not Fine”I had my future figured out. I would retire from my job, once we had paid off my husband’s truck and the line of credit. In the meantime, I would get my blog all figured out and maybe this winter complete a few quilts. Once I retired we would visit our grandchildren more often. It seemed like I had everything figured out. The only problem was, it wasn’t my plan that controlled the future I had forgotten that God was in control.
Maybe you make New Year’s Resolutions. Do you accomplish them, or by March are they a forgotten memory? I will write down goals throughout the year, but usually, they are in my head, filed away with numerous other bits of information. Sometimes, I reach the goals, but other times I change my mind, possibly dreaming up a better plan.
Can you make a list of five goals or plans that you have for the next year or two? Is retirement in your near future? Do you have a money savings goal you must reach? Are there a few more bills that you want to have paid off before you start working fewer hours, or maybe retire? Do you plan to move to a smaller home?
Continue reading “Who is in Control – God or You?”
