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9 Nutrients For Growing Healthy Hair

As most of my readers know, in October, 2018, I was diagnosed with a benign vestibular schwannoma, or acoustic neuroma as it is also called. It is a tumor that arises off of the vestibular nerve that controls gait, balance, and the main nerve for hearing that connects to the brain. My tumor was a big larger than large, displacing my brain stem, causing shortness of breath, temperature control issues, some hydrocephalus, and necrosis of the tumor. At diagnosis, my situation was deemed critical enough to report to the ER, as it could have been life threatening. There’s a phone call you hate making to your parents, let me tell you.

On November 29th, 2018 my tumor was removed after being on decadron, a steroid, to relieve brain inflammation all that time. My shortness of breath and temperature control issues were managed, but my dizziness, facial numbness, tinnitus, massive fatigue, and hearing loss were not. In fact, the only thing that is not permanent, even after surgery, is facial numbness. I have facial paralysis turned facial synkinesis, but most facial function is returning through time, soft tissue mobilization therapy and neuromuscular retraining. I am permanently deaf in my right ear as the nerve was severed. My tinnitus is permanent because my brain thinks it can still hear. It’s trying to make sense of the sounds it can feel. I do still have occasional dizziness because I worked hard in vestibular therapy, but I’m no longer a fall risk. I have fatigue and brain fog, especially after being around noise. Single sided hearing is a challenge, as sound discernment is often not possible. That may be playing a part in the fatigue and brain fog.

All that being said, while I was recovering from surgery, and after my fabulous not so fashionable neuro-surgical hair cut, I needed to know what I needed to eat and be nutritionally sound to heal well, and to grow my hair back as quickly as I could. I sell hair clips as my business, after all, and hair is needed for demonstrating that.

health, healthy hair, nutrition, hair growth

9 Nutrients for Growing Healthy Hair

In the course of that nutrition research, this e-book, 9 Nutrients for Growing Healthy Hair got written, and it is has literally been how I eat. What else did I have to do, besides lots of vestibular therapy, but focus on writing an e-book and my nutritional status?

I’d love to share it with you. Let me know in the comments if this helps you! I hope it does. You can access it free here.

The good news is that i stayed healthy all the time I’ve been recovering from surgery. My muscles have grown stronger through exercise and therapy. My head where my incision was made healed nicely with no infection. My physical/vestibular therapists have been working on myofascia release in order to prevent cervicogenic dizziness, no scar adhering to my scalp, and to relieve scalp and craniotomy tenderness. My brain mri shows only continued brain stem healing and only scar tissue and a small piece of tumor left to preserve my facial nerve. My facial paralysis is healing.

Diet is not a cure all, nor does it necessarily mean someone will never be sick. Exercise is not a cure all, and maybe it will help in the prevention of future illness.  Good nutritional status does give the best shot at best healing.

I do hope good nutrition continues to help my hair grow! The shaved sections of my head now have hair that is at my ear lobe. My goal is to have grown out my surgical hair cut by November, a full year since surgery. My hair styling technique is very boring while I wait for that to happen.

Goals are good. Good nutrition is good. Exercise is good. Keeping it all in balance-that’s good too.

Blessings,

Deb

Restoration, Renewal, & Hope: The Difference A Month Makes

Taken just five days after brain surgery, December 4, 2018

The scars on my forehead are gradually disappearing.

Forehead scars fading, January 3, 2019

My 8 inch-ish C-shaped incision behind my ear where a piece of bone was removed for surgery and then replaced with titanium screws is also healing. The muscles and nerves there do cause me some discomfort, and I’m having to be sure I’m moving and stretching by turning my head often enough to avoid creating strictures.

I need to keep my head on straight! Literally.

The hair behind my ear was clean shaven for the incision during surgery. The neurosurgeon left a layer of hair that adequately covers that scar. He shouldn’t quit his day job, but it’s clear he is good at what he does do! The good news is that my hair in that area is already an inch long. We’ll see what I do for a hair style once everything is healed, hair grows long enough, and I can return to my actual hair stylist. That is our friend’s, Michael at Identities in Kalamazoo, area of expertise.

I’m nearly off all pain medication. I’ve been off steroids for about 10-14 days. I am definitely thinking more clearly now that I don’t have a tumor, am not on steroids, and I’m going off pain medication. I’m finding myself less tired during the day too.

I’ve walked up to 3300 steps out on the road in front of our house with my bright red walker. There is one small hill that I call “you won’t own me” that does get my heart rate up and kicks my rear. Last year at this time I would not have even considered it a hill to be conquered. In doing my walking, I have put myself in great shape for the vestibular physical therapy I’m doing at Core Balance in Kalamazoo three times/week, an hour each time. And boy, let me tell you I leave there with rubber legs. I work hard. They are encouraging me to do as much as can at home, and that includes walking, grocery shopping, housework and homeschooling, but nothing that involves ladders.

I’m sleeping, and that is HUGE. It’s an incredible gift.

I still have facial droop and numbness. I still can’t blink my right eye, and if I’m not careful, could actually sleep with one eye open. I CAN drink with a straw and eat on my right side, although I have to be careful not to bite myself. I have hope that this will result in full facial functioning in coming weeks or months. While I was at Walmart the other day, I forgot that I need a straw to drink . I took a swig of Sprite and spilled it all down my front at the checkout. That is embarrassing, and frankly, this is part of a grief process that I am going through. Even though the people that love me aren’t noticing some of my limitations, I do. And they can’t be minimized to me. I don’t like scaring children when I try to smile at them, and can only do what looks like a grimace. Strangers can just be rude, and that is hard to take.

Keep your big girl pants on, Deb.

That’s harder to embrace than I realized it would be. And, often, my family receives the impact of my impatience, anger, and demoralized feelings. So here I am on January 3rd, trying to keep up the good fight and to keep faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

January 3rd, the difference a month makes: forehead scars are lightening, less tired looking, inflammation reducing, same attempt at smiling.

Clinging to Restoration, Renewal, and Hope in 2019,

Deb

Real

Hi, Family and Friends. It’s been since December 5th that I’ve been able to update, and after a rigorous few days up here at Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids, I thought I’d give a quick update.

I had a piece of my skull bone behind my ear removed during surgery, and I still have quite . a bit of brain and scalp swelling from that. I still have facial droop. Speech is good, though, and so is swallowing.

I am still really unable to handle visitors, and that is mostly because of the vestibular hearing loss and brain processing. I can’t handle more than a few minutes of talking at a time without severe exhaustion, and I can’t have competing noises. I can’t handle the television or music either.

At my initial arrival to Mary Free Bed, I was still a fall risk. I basically have done nothing independent of a nurse or patient tech until today since prior to surgery. I’ve been working with PT, OT, and ST all week and weekend since my arrival. There were many impairments pre-surgery, actually, that we were not aware were impairments until I started therapy here. What I’ve learned is that for every day one takes of rest prior to surgery, four days of therapy are added to the post surgery regimen!

I worked really hard at PT through the weekend, actually, and today for the first time am able to self ambulate around my room and to do self care. Until Peter is cleared for my safety, which he needs to be up here for, I am not able to walk halls. This would benefit me greatly and benefit my ability to go home, but I also need him to see what I’ve been doing for therapy so we don’t have competing agendas. I will be going home with some assistive devices, but mostly for when I’m running errands or doing PT. I will be doing therapy three times/week once home, and in an outpatient situation. I will be in therapy for at least a year. The surgical recovery is only what is up to 3 months, but brain recovery is going to take much, much longer.

The long and short is this: I’ve worked really hard these last few days, and as a result of that hard work, will get sutures removed on Thursday and will likely be discharged to home on Friday. I still need to keep a low profile for quite a while longer.

We still don’t have a radiation verdict.

The girls were up here last night to visit for the first time since prior to surgery. It was a hard visit. There are lots of “scary” feelings, and concerns. When they left, I was super homesick, though.

I miss my family.

God is good, and I am grateful for everything.

I am grateful to be here.

I’m grateful for healing, even if it is going to take a long time.

In the meantime, we’ve had a new well dug. Hopefully that will be fixed by the time I’m home. I’m uncertain of the communication behind this process. Peter is trying to finish semesters, the kids are doing school. We’re trying to keep a sense of normalcy when nothing is normal. And there are already a ton of appointments to be sorted through all the way through February.

My parents are leaving this weekend.

So that is my “real.”

That is our “real.”

Blessings,

Deb