Saturday, May 24
  1 p.m.—2 p.m. EDT (Toronto time)

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Patient:

Carolyn Dumas-Simons, ANAC Member (Ajax, ON)

 
In 2022, Carolyn noticed progressive hearing loss in her left ear. An MRI in May 2023 revealed an acoustic neuroma (AN) measuring 1.7 x 2.2 x 1.4 cm. Further imaging later identified three additional meningiomas. Carolyn underwent Gamma Knife radiation in early 2024 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to treat the AN. The three existing meningiomas are currently being monitored with a “watch and scan” approach.
 
Following treatment, Carolyn experienced vestibular symptoms including vertigo, imbalance, dizziness, and lack of coordination. Through ANAC support groups, Carolyn connected with resources for vestibular therapy, helping her progress from relying on a walker to walking independently most of the time. Her ongoing balance issues, single-sided deafness, and sensory changes with light sensitivity are an unfortunate treatment outcome, believed to result from Gamma Knife-induced scar tissue pressing on her vestibulocochlear nerve. 
 
Today, Carolyn manages her symptoms through a combination of therapies, a BiCROS hearing aid system, nutrition, regular physical activity, psychological support, and community connections. On days when balance issues and the fear of compromised function lead to anxious thoughts, Carolyn tries—though not always successfully—to set positive intentions. She owes unending gratitude to the members of the Acoustic Neuroma Association of Canada—for the care, support, and community they so graciously provide.

Carolyn encourages others:
Be willing to live with brain tumours. Navigate the journey. Seek grace in healing. Find balance—literally and figuratively.

Speakers: 

Shaleen Sulway, BSc, BScPT, PT, Advanced Certificate in Vestibular Rehabilitation
Co-Director & Physiotherapist, Vestibular Health, located at Toronto General Hospital and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital (Toronto, ON)

Shaleen is the founding co-director of Vestibular Health. She is a physiotherapist with 22 years of experience. For the last 15 years, she has solely specialized in helping patients with dizziness and balance disorders.

Shaleen has been part of the multidisciplinary clinical team at the Hertz Clinic for Meniere’s Disease and Vestibular Dysfunction located at the University Health Network (UHN). Shaleen established the Hertz Vestibular Rehabilitation Program and to date has helped well over two thousand patients with dizziness, offering one-on-one individualized assessments and treatments. Shaleen recently started a new role as an Advanced Practice Vestibular Physiotherapist at the Enhanced Dizzy Assessment Clinic (EDAC) at Toronto General Hospital, an initiative to reduce wait times for patients in need of specialized medical care for dizziness. She is one of Canada’s first Advanced Practice Physiotherapists in vestibular care.

Shaleen has a keen interest in teaching and research. She teaches vestibular rehabilitation at the University of Toronto Department of Physical Therapy, and Faculty of Medicine, and provides regular internships for physiotherapy students. She offers educational workshops in vestibular rehabilitation and has delivered these locally in many Toronto hospitals and community physiotherapy clinics and internationally. She has been involved in several research projects - her latest research looked at the prevalence of vestibular issues in elderly patients experiencing falls. She has presented her research at conferences all over the world. She has multiple publications and recently published a chapter on Advances in Vestibular Rehabilitation. 

Elizabeth Crawford, BPHE, MA, MScPT, PT, Certificate in Vestibular Rehabilitation
Co-Director & Physiotherapist, Vestibular Health, located at Toronto General Hospital and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital (Toronto, ON)

Elizabeth Crawford is the co-director of Vestibular Health. She is a compassionate and knowledgeable physiotherapist with expertise in vestibular and neurological rehabilitation.

Elizabeth has a Certificate in Vestibular Rehabilitation through Emory University, and has advanced vestibular training through the University of Pittsburgh. She has completed additional courses in neurological and concussion rehabilitation. Her clinical background is in neurological and complex traumatic injury rehabilitation. Elizabeth has extensive experience working with both community- and hospital-based multidisciplinary teams, focused on people with neurological disorders, persistent post-concussion symptoms, vestibular disorders, balance and gait impairments, and dizziness.

As part of the Hertz Clinic for Meniere’s Disease and Vestibular Dysfunction located at the University Health Network, Elizabeth has provided individualized physiotherapy assessment and treatment in the Hertz Vestibular Rehabilitation Program and continues to work alongside the multidisciplinary team in the neurotology clinic. Elizabeth is an Advanced Practice Vestibular Physiotherapist in the Enhanced Dizzy Assessment Clinic at Toronto General Hospital, an initiative to reduce wait times for patients in need of specialized medical care for dizziness/vertigo. During her work in the Hertz Clinic and as an Advanced Practice provider, she has gained knowledge of complex inner ear and neurological conditions and their impacts on balance function.

Elizabeth completed her physiotherapy degree at the University of Toronto in 2008. Her academic background is in kinesiology and physical education, with a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Kinesiology from York University.