Pre-surgery appointments tomorrow!
Tomorrow I have my pre-surgery appointments with both Dr. Gonzalez-Martinez and Dr. Woodson. I'm meeting with Dr. Gonzalez-Martinez at 9:25 and then Dr. Woodson at 11:00, so it's going to be a long morning. (Simply hiking across the Cleveland Clinic's MASSIVE campus will be tiring enough. Especially since the Neurosurgery and Otolaryngology departments just had to be situated on completely opposite ends.) The plan is to leave home around 7:30 (sigh) and hopefully miss most of the Cleveland rush hour traffic. I have my MapQuest directions printed and ready to go (no GPS for me)--although I'm pretty sure I have the route memorized by this point. And my typed list of questions is sitting beside my laptop, ready to interrogate Dr. Woodson about all of the concerns that I've had a month and a half to ponder.
I feel like tomorrow is the official start of the countdown to my surgery. These are the appointments that will "get the ball rolling," if you will. Up to this point, I've been in something akin to limbo and now the race to the finish kicks off. Of course, I will still have several more weeks of anxious waiting until May 11th. (Time for a miracle, perhaps?) But this is when all of the super fun pre-surgery planning begins. Woo. Guess I do finally have to answer my mom's question about what to do with my hair...
I will, of course, post an update on how the appointments go and what will be expected of me in the coming weeks. I'll try to be as detailed and helpful as possible since I know that, especially for new AN-ers, the more information, the better. Below I will post the list of questions I'm taking with me tomorrow so that you can get an idea of what to ask your own surgeons should you decided to go the microsurgery route. I can't take ownership of most of these questions since the majority of them were either swiped from the internet or suggested by my ANA buddies.
Questions:
1. How many people will there in the operating team, and who will do what?
2. How many weeks will I need before I resume normal activities? (Zumba!)
3. What outcomes can I expect in the following areas:
a) regrowth after surgery
b) tinnitus (will it finally go away?)
c) eye problems: dry eye, double vision, etc.
d) balance problems
e) headaches
f) cognitive problems, depression, fatigue
g) CSF leaks
4. Given no complications, at what frequency will I need to have follow-up MRIs?
5. Are there any medications or supplements I should avoid before and after surgery?
6. How often will I need to see my doctor for checkups?
7. Are there any medications that I will need to take after my surgery? If yes, for how long?
8. Will I be able to ride roller coasters this summer? (This may seem silly, but it is of the utmost importance to me!)
Please keep in mind that at my previous meeting with Dr. Woodson I did (or rather my dad did) ask more general questions such as, How many ANs have you personally treated?, How many complications have you had in surgery/after surgery?, How long does the operation take? etc. Also, the individuals on the ANA forum have been excellent about answering these questions and many others already for me so I feel like I'm going into these meetings well-equipped.
Chat to you soon!
I feel like tomorrow is the official start of the countdown to my surgery. These are the appointments that will "get the ball rolling," if you will. Up to this point, I've been in something akin to limbo and now the race to the finish kicks off. Of course, I will still have several more weeks of anxious waiting until May 11th. (Time for a miracle, perhaps?) But this is when all of the super fun pre-surgery planning begins. Woo. Guess I do finally have to answer my mom's question about what to do with my hair...
I will, of course, post an update on how the appointments go and what will be expected of me in the coming weeks. I'll try to be as detailed and helpful as possible since I know that, especially for new AN-ers, the more information, the better. Below I will post the list of questions I'm taking with me tomorrow so that you can get an idea of what to ask your own surgeons should you decided to go the microsurgery route. I can't take ownership of most of these questions since the majority of them were either swiped from the internet or suggested by my ANA buddies.
Questions:
1. How many people will there in the operating team, and who will do what?
2. How many weeks will I need before I resume normal activities? (Zumba!)
3. What outcomes can I expect in the following areas:
 |
| Inquisitive |
b) tinnitus (will it finally go away?)
c) eye problems: dry eye, double vision, etc.
d) balance problems
e) headaches
f) cognitive problems, depression, fatigue
g) CSF leaks
4. Given no complications, at what frequency will I need to have follow-up MRIs?
5. Are there any medications or supplements I should avoid before and after surgery?
6. How often will I need to see my doctor for checkups?
7. Are there any medications that I will need to take after my surgery? If yes, for how long?
8. Will I be able to ride roller coasters this summer? (This may seem silly, but it is of the utmost importance to me!)
Please keep in mind that at my previous meeting with Dr. Woodson I did (or rather my dad did) ask more general questions such as, How many ANs have you personally treated?, How many complications have you had in surgery/after surgery?, How long does the operation take? etc. Also, the individuals on the ANA forum have been excellent about answering these questions and many others already for me so I feel like I'm going into these meetings well-equipped.
Chat to you soon!
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