I Can't Stand Up.....

If I remember correctly those were the words I said to my dad as I tried to get out of the bed to use the restroom.  February 9th, reality hit me as I realized this recovery process wasn't going to be a  walk in the park. Giannotta came into my room, I asked him if this was permanent and he reassured me it was a temporary issue. Giannotta began to fill my family and I in about the surgery process and recovery. Apparently my tumor had became very vascular and bloody. It had grown another .5cm since November. Giannotta explained to us this was one of the most difficult removals to date. Surgery was expected to only be 4 hours and ended up taking 6 hours. Giannotta told us he had to cut the left balance nerve and tried to preserve the hearing nerve which unfortunately by now my hearing was gone. He also left a little piece of tumor on the facial nerve to prevent permanent facial paralysis. Giannotta was confident it wouldn't come back. I was informed that I would need to be transferred to a rehabilitation center. Shortly after, my mom teamed up with USC to find me the best rehab center in Las Vegas. While researching rehab centers the nurses wanted to see if I could walk. Lets just say it took 3 people to hold me up. I was trying to stay positive but this had to be the biggest blow I've ever experienced. I walked into the hospital February 8th and couldn't walk let alone stand up the next day. How does one keep a positive attitude? I sat in bed with my little buddy Wyatt and talked with my family. I was dealing with extreme head pressure, headaches, facial paralysis, tinnitus, and a sore throat. I was so uncomfortable it was hard to eat, swallow and talk. My family was so kind to keep bringing me juice and vitamin waters, they even brought me dairy free ice cream. During the weekend I had some friends local to the area stop by and pay me a visit. Thank you so much, that's something I'll never forget. Monday morning February 11th, my mom informs me that we received approval to transfer to Sunrise Rehabilitation Center, Las Vegas, NV. We packed up and prepared to head to Vegas however, I was not looking forward to a 4 hour ride in the truck. I thanked the USC staff and off we went. The longest most painful 4 hour car ride of my life!!