Bell's Palsy Update - Month 5 Ends

Blah, blah, blah...Bell's Palsy...blah, blah, blah. Yeah, it's still with me. But it's definitely fourth quarter in this game...and I do believe I am winning.

Honestly, there really isn't much more I can say about my bout with Bell's that I haven't already said...with the possible exception of saying The End. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm oh-so-close. I still have some paralysis, stubbornly hanging on to the lower left portion of my bottom lip, probably more noticeable to me than to anyone else. When I'm tired or stressed or try to talk too fast, it's much more noticeable. And, though I've mastered...for the most part...my Ss, Bs, and Ps, I'm still doing my speech therapy exercises with my F-words...:-). You remember? "Phil fell fifty feet."

In a related note, I picked up my new-new glasses this afternoon. Better than the last time around...not quite as good as I'd hoped. I am not experiencing the nauseating sensations like I was before finding out I had a condition known as anisometropia, so I'm guessing the correction in the right lens is on target. Still, I do feel some bit of discombobulation, for the lack of a better word. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever again will I be complacent about "normal" vision! Or normal anything, for that matter!!

I'm going to need all my energy to be focused...not on Bell's issues or vision problems...but on an upcoming trip. You know I have mentioned Miss Caroline, my former piano teacher? She and Momma were "Henning Friends," graduating from RHS, Class of '38. After Momma died, she and I kept up almost-weekly phone chats and regular correspondence, and she has become like a Second Mother, filling a hole in my heart. An only child of only children, she never married...so, no children, no grandchildren. I like to believe I have given her not only continuity with "her old life," but also a measure of feeling loved.

Alas, her body is wearing out. She's been battling a persistent kidney infection for weeks now, and she is growing weaker with each day. I think I have gotten my various health issues controlled enough to be trusted out on I-40...which is exactly where I plan to be Thursday morning. More on that in my next post, I'm sure. Remember, no regrets.

I'll sign off this post with the Documentation Photos, taken on Day #154...the beginning of Month #6. And, yes...before you ask. Those glasses are really old. Really, really old.
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