Day 1

Saturday morning I woke up with an earache (right side).

Sunday my right scalp felt hypersensitive and my hair "hurt".

Monday I went to the doctor and told him that my viral throat infection from 3 weeks ago had never really fully cleared up and now this new stuff was happening. He looked in my ear and said that I didn't have an ear infection. He felt my throat and said that my lymph nodes were swollen. I told him I knew that - that they had been for 3 weeks. He looked in my throat and told me it was red. I told him I also knew that - that that had also been the case for 3 weeks. He said, "Three weeks is a long time, let's try a Z-Pak." A Z-pak is a short run of antibiotics.

That night I drank a bottle of water that tasted funny. It didn't taste funny to Preston (my husband).

Tuesday morning I woke up and the right side of my face was numb and partially paralyzed.

I proceeded to have a mild freak out, take an asprin in case I was having a stroke, and go to work. My face became increasingly less responsive. I called my mom. She called me back and told me that it sounded like Bell's Palsy and I needed to go to the doc as soon as I could get an appt.

I got to work. People asked me what was wrong with my face.

I called to make an appointment. They forwarded me to a nurse. I told her my face was paralyzed. She said ok. I said that I thought that was a pretty major change in my sypmtoms and I thought maybe I should tell someone. She asked me why I hadn't gone to the ER. I told her I didn't know, I was 26 and I don't just go to the ER. Plus the copay on the ER is pretty big, I was just hoping to see a dr. today. She told me for facial paralysis I needed to call 911. I told her why didn't I just drive over to the minor emergency center where my copay is only $40. She told me to have someone else drive me.

So *my boss* drove me over to the minor emergency center. Where they told me I have Bell's Palsy.

*** This and the first several entries of this blog are backdated. They are what I wrote as it happened. Since learning I have Bell's Palsy, I've discovered lots of information on the internet, but most of it says exactly the same thing. I decided that I will blog the entire experience of Bell's Palsy from Day 1 through the end of it, whenever that may be. I can only hope that this blog will help someone else deal with this experience.