Bell's Palsy Update - Week 8 Begins

The good news is that I haven't stalled: there is evidence of teeny, tiny mini-steps of progress as the Bell's Palsy slowly, slowly recedes. Bad news? Well, I'm sounding like a broken record here. Yawn.

It's more fun to give you the crop report from HPNC: the cotton bolls are filling out, the peppers are plumping up...and the roses are reblooming! Check out the photos from Mr. T below.

BTW, that's a "Friendship" rose bloom in the picture; it's one of the AARS winners from 1979, and this is its first year in our garden. We purchased three Friendship bushes from Roses Unlimited, along with three Sutter's Gold (AARS winner for 1950) and three Chrysler Imperial (AARS winner for 1953). You can probably figure out where we're going with this combination...:-)

OK, back to the boring Bell's Palsy update...

But wait! I'm not the only one recovering here on Franelm. Missy M went for her check up with her foot doctor on Thursday, and she got a good report. The X-ray shows evidence of proper healing, and no evidence of any cause for concern. Hooray!!

She has been faithfully wearing her walking boot for the past three weeks (after spending over 9 weeks in a cast), removing it only to sleep, bathe, and drive. She's battled some swelling and some pain, but with ice packs and pain meds both of those have diminished a bit as the days went by. The doctor says that is normal...to be expected.

So now she gets to make the transition from walking boot to...well, walking normally. Gradually, said the doctor. Right. She admitted this morning that maybe she overdid it a bit this weekend, and she wore the boot to work...especially for the walk from her parking spot to the building. Still, you have to hand it to her: she did a great job of putting her weight on that foot for the first time in 12 weeks...and walking around the house. Woo hoo!

See that was so much better than hearing, yet again, that the facial paralysis is lessening, my speech is getting better (so I'm told), and my eye-tearing is almost a non-issue. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I still cannot smile, whistle, or wink...which are the three milestones I hope to reach. Sooner rather than later, I hope.

Yeah, yeah. No lectures on "focusing on how far you have come, rather than how far you have to go." I know, I know. Honestly? I'm just tired of BP. Way past tired. And when I get tired, my positive attitude goes down the pipes.

So here is Day 50's documentation photo. (Pink shirt again, BS, even though it clashes drastically with my California Coral nail polish...:~\) A little more upturn in my left lip, in response to my brain-command to "smile!" A little less droop of my left eyelid.

As I said before...teeny, tiny improvements. The Optimist Within (that I couldn't silence with all my earlier negative thoughts...no matter what...:~\) says "any progress is better than no progress."