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Thursday, April 20, 2006
ER
Yesterday was one of those days that seemed to last forever. After eating lunch with my brother-in-law, I was in route to the comic shop for my weekly stash when my wife called ... she had come home early from work and wanted me to come home immediately.
The left side of her face wasn't exactly paralyzed, but she couldn't smile or blink her eye on that side very well. It was kind of scary. We called her doctor, who told us to go into the ER because they could perform tests that she probably couldn't.
So after 7 1/2 hours, a head CT, other X-rays, many probing questions, bloodwork, countless forms, lots of fretting and one really strange guy kind of scared us, my wife was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. Which really freaked us out, until the doctor explained what it was and what caused it.
Honestly, the only thing I knew about it was that Jim Ross, one of the announcers for the WWE, had a really bad case of it a few years back that affected his face. Turns out many celebrities, such as Roger Ebert, Sly Stallone, Alexis Denisof and George Clooney, have suffered from it. Basically it's a virus that affects the nerves in your face, so they either weaken or become paralyzed. Yesterday wasn't as bad as today; the nurse told us she'd get worse before she got better. At least yesterday she could sort of smile and blink; today she can't do either on the left side of her face. And it could last anywhere from 10-12 days to several months.
The good news is that at least it wasn't a stroke, a tumor or any of the other things the doctor ruled out over the course of those hours. It is scary because it's something we really didn't know anything about, but at least it is treatable and not life-threatening.
We'd both hoped we'd get through life without ever having to go to the ER, though. And I hope I don't have to go back anytime soon.
posted by JK Parkin - 9:04 PM -- Link to this entry
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