So here I am, just over 5 weeks after brain surgery - bare with me as the journey has had some low points and I'm sure there may be a few more to come. Not everyone will know my story yet, its not something I saw coming but its certainly become reality and has made me re-evaluate things.
So what's the most important thing I'd like you to read and think about - YOUR HEALTH ... never stop looking for an answer if you feel something isn't right or if you have a symptom to suggest that you should stop and listen - doing this may have just saved my life.
This chapter started back in 2010, but I only started taking reign and writing it in 2012. My first inkling that something was wrong came a few months after a beautiful natural home water birth of my second child, all of a sudden I was unable to use my left ear on the telephone and there was a ringing that came and went in the ear. I mentioned it to the doctor who sent me for an audio-gram, I felt the testing was unreliable with my kids in the room, tester not all that pleasant or supportive and it showed some loss as expected - but that was as far as it went.
During the start of 2012 when reading an advert for a hearing clinic I choose to take more action and have a second audio-gram done. This time at a new place I found the staff supportive, I had also focused more time on me rather then being the mum of a new born and I was in a better place to hear the results and the recommendation to see a specialist. The day came around, the money was found, and I went alone to another appointment. This time recommendation was an MRI - and was what made me stop.
How was a healthy person like me - ok a bit over weight which was not exactly new, I had no other symptoms to ring alarm bells, just felt I was one of the unlucky ones who's hearing had been affected by a virus or too many loud sounds - maybe all those times I was told to turn the walk-man down. Then I heard the ENT mention 'rare tumour' .. nothing to worry about though just a precaution as we want to know why your hearing is abnormal.
As I sat and waited to be picked up from that appointment my worry was more about an MRI I mean the thought of a tumour was daunting but I'm healthy and its RARE - slim chance I'd be affected with something that feels like a life sentence. But who wants to be tested in a big machine you know nothing about with contrast injected - that was daunting.
3 months later & still no sign of the MRI appointment but I was starting to wake seeing stars, with attached headaches turning into migraines .... knowing this wasn't right I sought out an appointment with my eye specialist due to a trauma cataract growing, osteopath for a 'body check' and called the ENT specialist to ask that the MRI get moved to urgent - concern was setting in. The quick reply was no take voltaren, and come in to have a grommet inserted it may help - no guarantees. It took a day or two until I decided to get a second opinion, tears shed until I managed to get a referral to another ENT. This time I was sent for bloods to check something else and told that the MRI shouldn't be far away and to wait reassurance that a tumour is rare and that if it is a tumour I'm still in my 20's and that the diagnosis would probably be another MRI to check growth rate.
Again I was reassured everything was precautionary and there is no need to worry so I just focused on keeping a positive attitude.
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