Brain Tumor Diagnosis

In September I was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, also known as an acoustic neuroma.  It is a brain tumor that is non-cancerous 99% of the time.  While I am thankful that it is most likely non-cancerous, my tumor is large(3.2cm) and will require surgical intervention.  This doesn't come without risks.  

On January 13th, they will use an approach called retrosigmoid craniectomy to attack this tumor and remove as much as possible. It will be a team of surgeons and will likely be an 8+ hour surgery. It is pretty much a given that I will lose all hearing on my right side.  As a professional musician, you can imagine that will be a major adjustment for me.  They will also sever the right balance nerve during this surgery which will take some time to get used to. There are smaller risks, which include facial paralysis, as well as changes to my voice, and those are around 25%.

So my reasoning for this post is to ask for your prayers as I continue on this journey over the next at least 6 months and that things go smoothly.  There is a wide range on how people recover from this surgery. Some people are back to work and relatively normal within about 6 weeks.  Others continue to struggle for months, if not years.  We don’t know how it will be until it happens.

I have been through a lot medically in my life(particularly the last 4 years) and have always rebounded in tough circumstances...often returning to work sooner than expected after surgeries and hospitalizations.  But this will also be a lesson for myself to let my body heal, and while okay to push myself, I will also need to be kind to myself.

I'm extremely grateful to have a family that loves and supports me and will help me through this.  I'm also beyond blessed to be part of an amazing faith community with a wonderful pastor and staff who will be by my side through this.  I firmly believe that God is with me through this process and will see me through it.

For those that know some of my past health history, I've been through a lot and I'll be damned if this is gonna take me out!

These are generally slow growing tumors (over a period of decades) hence why they feel comfortable making sure they have a really good plan before going in to get it.  I have many more tests and scans before surgery day. There will be specialized scans that fully map out my entire head before surgery.

These also aren't particularly common(1 in 100,000 in most studies), but if you happen to notice a change in hearing on one side, I encourage you to go in and get it checked. The only way to diagnose is through an MRI, and if I had been offered one in 2020 when I first noticed an issue, it would have been found sooner.