Springing Ahead

Before going to bed last night, I made sure to set my alarm clock ahead one hour, and make sure that my alarm was set. I was worried about over-sleeping and missing yet another choir performance at the 9:30am Mass in Champaign. As it turned out, the time change was the LEAST of my worries...

I had no trouble getting up and running. My hair still looked good from yesterday, and as this never happens to me, I was excited that all I needed to do was wash my face off and put on new make-up. While applying said make-up, I noticed my left eye was slightly "poofy" and I had trouble closing it all of the way. Hmmmm...what was happening?

My tongue felt swollen and my entire mouth felt numb. My ears had been hurting, so I opted for contact lenses. By the time I had driven the 45 minute drive into church, I had felt like I had just been to the dentist and I had a numb mouth from Novocaine. As I spoke to a friend, I could tell that only half of my mouth and face was moving. How embarrassing! The vision in my left eye was blurred, but I wasn't sure if this was due to wearing my contact lenses for the first time in over a year!

After some difficulty swallowing after Communion, I decided I was not getting any better, and I phoned the Patient Advisory Nurse. She instructed me to go the the Emergency Room. Well, I wasn't about to call for an ambulance as she suggested and have it come and pick me up causing a raucous in front of a large church crowd. After all, if I didn't try to speak, I looked fine.

I called my dad to tell him and my mom the plans. I would need them to bring me my glasses, as the doctor told me to remove the contact lenses ASAP. I told him what was wrong. He seemed a bit concerned that I had had a stroke. He told me to get out of the car, stand up, and hold my arms up. They should be even. And also, I should be able to walk without trouble. He could tell my speech was a bit slurred, but that was due to the swelling/numbness in my mouth. I told him I was fine, and that I would just need the glasses before being discharged from the Emergency Department. So he asked if he had time to change the oil in my sister's car. Sure Dad....sure.

I drove the the hospital, and two hours later, they decided that I did NOT have a stroke, but instead, I had Bell's Palsy. Which, basically means, one side of your face is paralyzed due to facial nerves being inflamed or swollen. The likely cause of it is, of course, a VIRUS. (Go figure...this seems to be the standard diagnosis for everything these days.) I was sent home with steroids and an anti-viral medicine.

I phoned my Dad once more to find out what his location was. He and my mom were at the mall. So, I said I was leaving the hospital. No one had eaten any lunch yet, so we decided to meet at Culver's. I love Culver's! Eating was quite interesting. I couldn't get my sandwich in my mouth without pulling my lips down. I bit my tongue a couple of times, too. I think I definitely provided some comic relief.

My dad still doesn't seem 100% convinced about this Bell's Palsy deal. He joked that my pupils were different sizes, which could mean brain damage, or "drain bamage" as he likes to say. I think it was just the light, or the fact he was five feet away from me. Regardless, we took some pictures of the paralyzed face. Have a giggle on me...

This picture isn't so bad...you can tell a bit
more that the eyebrows are not even as I smile.

Bah! In this picture, I am scrunching
up my face as tight as I can. But the
left side of my face is perfectly smooth.

And the last photo, a dramatic smile.
It finally looks like my eyebrows are not
so uneven. Hopefully, my mouth will even
out next. I cannot even whistle!