My hearing progressively got worse through the next year and I finally made an appointment to see a ear doctor. He did some tests in the office and told me that it was most likely a problem I had since birth and it just took many years for the deafness to occur. I told him that I was starting to feel "allergy" symptoms and itchy sinuses and ear canal. He referred me to an audiologist. I was tested about a month later with more equipment. By then I was starting to experience dizziness while walking. I mentioned this to the audiologist, and she told me that was common with people with one-sided deafness.

It was now July 2003, and I was starting to experience pain. It progressively got worse, and no painkillers worked. The pain would travel from my neck all the way up the right side of my skull to my sinus area. I managed to find a muscle pain relieve medication that seemed to help a small bit, enough so I could still go to work.

At work I was concerned that the cause of my pain might have been environmental. I checked ceiling tiles for mould, I asked the neighboring stores what type products they used in their shops, I even got my boss to install a carbon monoxide detector.

September 2003, I started to get "eye haloes", a ring of many colours and light would travel from one eye to the other, but only after the neck pain, not before. This phenomenon occurred mostly when I was leaning and tilting my head up. After this first occurrence I finally went to a clinic to get checked out.

I credit Dr. Clark at St. James Clinic here in Winnipeg for really listening to my symptoms and testing me thoroughly. She set up an appointment for a CT scan.

While I was waiting for the CT appointment, I had a very large attack of pain, dizziness and the haloes, enough for me to head straight for the emergency room. I waited 6 hours to be looked at. By then the pain subsided, and the doctor suggested that I just go home and wait for my CT appointment the next week.

October 11, 2003, I had a 10:30 pm appointment at the Winnipeg HSC for a CT scan. They discovered the tumour and told me to head back to the emergency room and to wait for someone from the Neurology department to speak to me. At about midnight a Neurology intern told me what I had; Acoustic Neuroma. They were guessing the size of it was over 5 cm.

About 2 hours later, another Neurologist who explained my situation in more detail visited me. He highly suggested I get admitted that night. My chances of getting an MRI are higher if I am admitted. By 3:00 am I was sent to my room in the Neurology ward.

The next morning my surgeon, Dr.Williams, visited me. I was told for the size of the tumour, I didn’t have much of a choice other than getting the Trans-lab approach. He told me that some of the tumour would be left behind to not disturb the sensitive nerves it was tangled with. He notified me of my permanent hearing loss and risk of facial palsy. He was very thorough and explained everything well. I then had an MRI following that meeting.

I was on anti-seizure medication as well as steroids. I was monitored hourly and tested for mental awareness etc. This was a teaching hospital so I was tested a lot.

October 14, 2003 7:00 am I was taken to the Operating Room. The operation took about 12 hours. I was taken directly to step-down. I stayed in step-down for one day. During that time I had my fluid bag that was still attached to my skull removed, as well as my catheter. I noticed my facial palsy when I got to take my first sip of water. But because my face and skull were still so numb from the surgery, I didn’t seem to be worried too much about it. Shortly after catheter removal I was told that I needed to get up and start walking around to gain my strength.

After being checked for blood pressure and infection, I was dismissed out of hospital on October 17, 2003. I stayed at my mother’s home for 2 weeks under her care. I was given Tylenol 3 for my pain. I was on no other medications.

I had a follow up MRI in January 2004; I did not receive any notification of results. I gave the hospital my doctors phone number and address to have any information sent to him. My doctor had me referred to a facial rehab specialist for help with facial retraining. My face is slowly healing and I can move some facial muscles on the paralyzed side, and lower my eyelid. I cannot produce tears yet.

My balance has improved greatly; I have no problems getting around on my own, unless I am fatigued later in the day. I have no pain at all; I rarely take any pain medications.

I was told of possibly having some radiation treatment post surgery to take care of the remaining tumour that is there. I am hoping to speak to my Neurologist about that soon. The Gamma Knife is located right here in Winnipeg, so my treatment would be very convenient to get to.

I wish I knew the cause of this tumour, the Neurologist suspected I had it since I was a child, and it was slow growing until the past 2-3 years where it seemed to have a “growth spurt”. I know that the sheer size of my tumour was very rare to be found in someone my age. Luckily I received the treatment when I did. I don’t know how much longer I would have been able to function or live with a tumour of that size.

I hope this information serves as a helpful tool to doctors, patients and caregivers who are having to deal with AN.

I can be reached via email: kellyrama@msn.com