I began to experience a "twitch" in my left eye sometime in 2004, at 39 years old. Although the twitches were annoying, I assumed that they would go away just as gradually as they had appeared.

During a routine visit to my ophthalmologist in 2005, I mentioned the twitching to him. He said I had blepharospasms likely caused by lack of sleep, too much stress, and too much caffeine. This sounded like a pretty accurate description of my life at the time! I was going through a very stressful time in my life and attributed the twitches mostly to stress.

The twitching continued with greater frequency in 2006. I again consulted my ophthalmologist and he still thought the twitches were blepharospasms. He gave me the name and number of a plastic surgeon and recommended that I consult with him for Botox injections if the twitching persisted. I never did follow up on the Botox treatment. Despite the fact that the twitching had been going on for over two years and were increasing in frequency, I still believed that they would eventually subside on their own. (I’m an eternal optimist, what can I say??)

By early 2007, the twitching in my eye was really bad. At times, I had difficulty reading and/or focusing on the computer screen as my left eye began to twitch with increasing intensity and frequency. At times, my left eye drooped all the way shut. I scheduled an appointment with a plastic surgeon for Botox injections. When I told the receptionist that I needed the injections because of my twitching eye, she reacted as though she had never heard of such a thing. I began to wonder whether a plastic surgeon was really what I needed. Later that same day, I looked in the mirror and noticed that the left side of my mouth was pulling up in unison with my eye twitch. I decided to do some research on the internet. I discovered this site and read numerous articles on HFS. I learned from this site about Dr. Kenneth Casey (in Detroit) and decided to make an appointment with him at once. I also promptly cancelled my appointment with the plastic surgeon.

My first appointment with Dr. Casey was on January 26, 2007. I described my symptoms to him although I probably didn’t have to because at this point my eye was twitching almost constantly. Dr. Casey asked me what I thought was the matter and I told him I thought I had HFS. He agreed with my amateur "diagnosis" and referred me for a MRI and hearing tests.

I know, from reading emails and diaries here at HFSA, that I was lucky to have a doctor in my area that understood the condition and had a lot of experience performing MVD’s. I know I was very fortunate to have my HFS diagnosed early-on in my quest for treatment. The diagnosis of HFS, however, was rather upsetting to me. For several years, I firmly believed that the twitches would just go away on their own. It was very unsettling to realize that I would have to undergo a major surgery like MVD to get rid of them. It took me several weeks (and a lot of prayer) to come to terms with this diagnosis and make the decision to have surgery.

Dr. Casey did mention Botox as a non-surgical alternative but I did not want to pursue this line of treatment. At this point, I had grown so tired of living with the twitches that I wanted to get them “fixed” once and for all. I wanted a permanent solution. I understood, from all of my research both here and other places on the Internet, that MVD was the only "cure" for HFS.

I met with Dr. Casey again and scheduled surgery for May 17, 2007. I could have scheduled it much sooner but my son was going to make his First Holy Communion on May 5th and I wanted to hold off on surgery until after this date. Planning the surgery so far in advance had its advantages as I was able to tie up lose ends at work and home. I also managed to draw up my will and a living trust. This was something I’d been meaning to do for a long time and I knew I’d feel better if I took care of these unpleasantries before surgery, just in case something was to happen. A big drawback, however, was that I had a lot of time to think about the surgery and worry. I had complete faith in Dr. Casey and his ability to perform the MVD. The thought of surgery involving my brain, however, had me a little “freaked out”. As the surgery date drew near, my friends and family began to "freak out" a little bit too. My mom had a special Mass said for me and my best friend told me that she was scared to death. Their fear rubbed off on me. I felt very anxious and nervous the few days leading up to my surgery but there was no way I was turning back. I wanted to get the surgery behind me. I was ready…albeit a little scared and apprehensive.

The big day was finally here and I just wanted to get the surgery behind me. I arrived at Detroit Receiving Hospital (DRH) at 6:30 am for my surgery scheduled for 8:30 am. I was promptly taken back to pre-op and had a team of people working on me. I was very impressed with the staff at Detroit Receiving Hospital. They had trouble getting a line into my arm, and it took several attempts. The nurse anesthetist, Mike, was unfamiliar with HFS and asked a lot of questions. He said that he really appreciated what a difficult decision it must have been to decide to undergo surgery for a "twitching eye". I really liked Mike. He made me feel at ease. When he told me that he would be in the operating room with me the whole time, I felt better. I told him I was leaving him in charge and we laughed.

Dr. Casey appeared in pre-op at 8:00 am, ready to go. The staff finished up their pre-op work and I was rolled into the Operating Room at 8:15 am (fifteen minutes early). The room was full of computer monitors. For some reason, I wanted to see the "vise" that would hold my head in place during surgery. The whole idea of having a vise in my head scared me more than the operation itself. Mike assured me that they wouldn’t do anything more to prep me for surgery (including the vise thing) until after I was knocked out. Someone put medication in my IV and off to dream land I went.

I awoke in post-op with a very, very bad headache about 3 hours later. The man in the bed next to mine was screaming for pain medication and I was very annoyed with him. The nurses repeatedly advised him that he could not have any more pain medications and eventually he settled down but if I had felt up to it, I’m sure I would have shouted at him and told him he didn’t know the meaning of pain.

I vaguely recall Dr. Casey telling me everything went fine. He asked me if I had felt any twitches and it was only then that I remembered why I had the surgery in the first place! I tried pursing my lips, something that was sure to set off a wave of twitches earlier, and nothing happened! I was "SPASM FREE"!! I was, however, in a great deal of pain. My family looked very relieved to see me after surgery and did everything they could to get me moved from post-op to a quiet room of my own. When we asked about pain medication, the nurse said I had to have a neurological assessment before additional pain medications could be administered. My sister, a nurse, decided to administer her own form of "neurological assessment". She asked me who the president of the United States was and I told her it was Barry Manilow. We have a private, on-going joke about Barry Manilow. My family laughed and I could see that they were relieved that I still had my sense of humor despite the pain. I don’t recall having a "real" neurological assessment but I was kind of groggy at this point. I do know, however, that I was given pain medication at some point as the pain subsided considerably once I was moved to my own room in ICU.

There was a tray of food in my room when I arrived and I thought it must have been left there as some kind of a joke. There was NO WAY I could have eaten anything. In fact, I didn’t eat at all for three days following surgery. I had absolutely no appetite.

Once in ICU, my nurse administered pain medication and I asked her to keep it coming. I asked her to administer the medication as often as the Doctor’s orders would allow. I didn’t want to experience the type of pain I felt immediately post-op ever again!!

With the help of regularly administered pain medication, I was able to sleep fairly well through the night. I did, however, have to use a bed pan for the first time in my life. There was no way I could have gotten up and walked to the bathroom that evening. I find it hard to believe that in this day and age of modern medicine, that the contraption they use for a bed pan today is the best thing available. Barbaric!!!

May 18, 2007 – First Day Post-Op: