Healing is not always linear.
Progress can be quiet, uneven, and deeply personal. A difficult day does not erase how far you have come.
Survivor · Founder · Advocate
From diagnosis to a mission of hope.
I am Abigail, an acoustic neuroma survivor. I created Acoustic Neuroma Warrior so no one facing this diagnosis would ever feel alone.
This is one survivor's experience—honest about the difficult days and grounded in hope.
Before I knew
For years, the symptoms did not have a name.
Intermittent vertigo was my first symptom. It came and went for years, long before I understood that it could be connected to something growing quietly inside my head.
In 2025, the hearing on one side became noticeably worse. Speech began to blur together. I paid for a hearing test without a referral, and the asymmetry found by the audiologist led me to an ENT and then to an MRI.
First signal Intermittent vertigoWhat changed One-sided hearingWhat brought answers Hearing test and MRI
The diagnosis
The MRI gave the symptoms a reason—and changed everything.
On May 24, 2025, the MRI showed a 4.4 cm left acoustic neuroma. Later imaging measured it at 4.7 cm. Suddenly, the years of vertigo and the hearing changes had a name.
The diagnosis brought fear, urgent questions, and difficult decisions. It also began a new chapter of self-advocacy: learning the language, finding an experienced care team, and preparing for what came next.
“The moment answers arrived, life felt divided into before and after.”
Brain surgery
October 3, 2025 became a day my family would never forget.
I faced surgery with faith, preparation, difficult questions, and trust in my care team. These are real moments from before the operation and the earliest days afterward.
Before surgeryA moment of courage before the operation.
The first daysRecovery began one quiet moment at a time.
The first days of recovery
Recovery asked me to measure progress differently.
The early days were not about returning instantly to the person I had been. They were about sitting up, walking with support, resting, and listening to a body and brain doing enormous work.
Fatigue, balance changes, hearing loss, and brain fog became part of a recovery that did not move in a straight line. Some progress was visible. Much of it was not.
“Small steps were still steps forward.”
What recovery taught me
The experience is medical. The impact is deeply human.
Every warrior's path is different, but these truths continue to shape how ANW shares support.
Invisible changes still matter.
Fatigue, hearing loss, balance changes, brain fog, grief, and uncertainty deserve language, care, and understanding.
Connection can change the journey.
Clear information and a compassionate community can make a complicated diagnosis feel less isolating.
Why I created ANW
Turning lived experience into a place of hope.
Acoustic Neuroma Warrior exists to offer calm education, practical recovery guidance, honest survivor storytelling, and compassionate community for every stage of the journey.
It is a place to learn at your own pace, find words for what you are experiencing, and remember that your story is larger than a diagnosis.
Trust & safety
A survivor story, not a medical blueprint.
Abigail's story is one person's lived experience. ANW shares education and peer support, not personalized medical advice. Treatment decisions should always be discussed with your qualified healthcare team.
You are not alone
Your story matters, too.
Every warrior carries a different chapter. Together, those stories can become understanding, connection, and hope.