It's been a little over 3 years since they took a chunk of my brain out. In some ways I don't think I'll ever be the same - remembering new faces is very difficult, I'm a little more forgetful than my old self, and have a little less vocal filter. I met with my surgeon recently and there's really no change in my MRI since surgery. That means I shouldn't need another MRI for 2 years.
Overall I must say I am very pleased with the outcome of the surgery. Dr. Paul House at the University of Utah Hospital performed a right medial temporal lobectomy a little over 3 years ago on me. I've only had a couple of seizures since then and they were brought on by dehydration, lack of sleep, little illnesses. My concentration and short-term memory for most things has improved. My piano playing is great for the amount of time I have to practice.
I'm out to prove that I can improve my ability to learn new faces. I've started learning to draw faces. The process has been very tedious. At first all my drawings - men, women, children - all turned out looking like ugly guys. I really couldn't figure out why. I've kept trying and I'm gradually getting my drawings to look somewhat like the pictures I'm drawing from. I've started to pay attention to facial details that I've really never noticed before. The book I'm currently using describes noses, ears, lips and more - pointing out things I can't believe I've never noticed. Hopefully not having the right fusiform gyrus can be compensated by some other area of my brain, reducing the amount of prosopagnosia that I have.
Overall I must say I am very pleased with the outcome of the surgery. Dr. Paul House at the University of Utah Hospital performed a right medial temporal lobectomy a little over 3 years ago on me. I've only had a couple of seizures since then and they were brought on by dehydration, lack of sleep, little illnesses. My concentration and short-term memory for most things has improved. My piano playing is great for the amount of time I have to practice.
I'm out to prove that I can improve my ability to learn new faces. I've started learning to draw faces. The process has been very tedious. At first all my drawings - men, women, children - all turned out looking like ugly guys. I really couldn't figure out why. I've kept trying and I'm gradually getting my drawings to look somewhat like the pictures I'm drawing from. I've started to pay attention to facial details that I've really never noticed before. The book I'm currently using describes noses, ears, lips and more - pointing out things I can't believe I've never noticed. Hopefully not having the right fusiform gyrus can be compensated by some other area of my brain, reducing the amount of prosopagnosia that I have.
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