Today marks 1-year since my surgery at UCSD to remove the acoustic neuroma pushing on my brain. (I can’t believe I just wrote that!) So much has happened over the last 365 days. I give thanks to God every day for the gift of continued healing.  We celebrated my ANniversary (Get it? AN = acoustic neuroma) by having dinner out.  Then we came home for chocolate vinegar cake – Grandma Lois’ recipe.

Jake and I took some time this morning to reflect back on 1/23/18.  Some of it I remember clearly and some I don’t.  It’s probably a gift that the meds I was on also kept me from recalling a lot of what I experienced immediately post-op.  There are times I think back to what has transpired over the last year and a half and shake my head in disbelief.  Did I really go through all of that?  Then the reality of my lost hearing, my scar, my hair that continues to grow back, my tongue that has lost its sense of taste on one side, all “prove” to me that yes, I did in fact experience all of this. And God has shown me His faithfulness throughout all of it.  I am changed.  I’m definitely not the same person I was before my surgery or even before my diagnosis. And that’s ok.

Next up – 1-year post-op MRI to (hopefully) confirm zero regrowth.