2006-04-11

Bell's Palsey

Funny how something you've never heard of before can affect you so dramatically. A condition that only occurs in about 23 of 100,000 people at some time.

It started last Wednesday, 4/5 (Donna's birthday, no less) when the pain in my left ear moved to behind it, on the back of my neck, and to my temple. Great, I think to myself, now I've got a whopping ear infection. So I plan on getting to the doctor's the next day.

I wake up Thursday with a funny feeling on the left side of my face. Can't wiggle both of my ears, just my right one. My smile doesn't go all the way to my left side. Really strange. I head over to the Urgent Care facility after work (I don't have a regular doctor as I rarely need to see one) but they say nope, no infection, just a muscle ache from driving so much.

So I carry on, but the muscles on the left side of my face get worse. By the weekend, I can't drink or eat without spilling out the left side of my face, and I can't close my left eye all the way. Which is really starting to irritate my eye.

By Monday Donna is taking me to the ER at Hagerstown hospital. Diagnosis is Bell's Palsey, a viral infection. No idea how it gets in someone's system. But of all the things I was dreading (mini-stroke or a brain tumor) this is the lesser of all evils. It's curable over a few week's time period with the meds I have. But, at least for now, I can't drive and looking at a computer screen is painful with my eye drying out so quickly. My head and neck hurt alot, and I get little sleep from it all. Plus hanging on to a coherent thought is very troublesome.

This puts a serious crimp in my gaming...

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