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I have been an incredibly lucky person when it comes to my health. I have never been a health nut. I had a serious cigarette addiction for decades and managed to get through unscathed…or so I thought.
Last January, I had a small stroke. Actually, it was what doctors call a TIA. It was painful and frightening and probably stress induced. I feel like I have recovered fully and that I have no lasting after affects. For this I am grateful.
I have noticed, in the past year, that I am much more sore. Yes, the years are catching up. They say, “It’s not the years. It’s the mileage.” Well, that doesn’t help me at all. If there is one thing I have on this body, it’s high mileage.
Well, here we go again. The newest adventure in aging. On Thursday, I developed a nagging and recurring sharp pain in my lower back. I felt sure that it was kidney stone time…again. By Friday, it was hard to walk. By Saturday, the pain was gone. It was probably a pinched nerve. I feel like I dodged a bullet. And then…
Friday evening I noticed that I couldn’t close my right eye. I felt like I had just been to the dentist for a filling, and the novacane hadn’t worn off yet. Now it’s Sunday evening, and that’s how I feel. My nose is tingling and I can’t control the right side of my face. When I rinse after brushing my teeth, water squirts out of my mouth. I called my physician father and he thinks it’s a case of Bell’s palsy. I have done some research on this and it sounds like I have a Bell’s palsy. I will call my doctor, of course, and go see him about this, but from the looks of things, it’s a Bell’s palsy. Everything I read about this says that it should go away on its own.
In the meantime, if you see me, and you think I’m impaired in some way that is inappropriate for the situation like school, church, the grocery store, whatever, I am not. I am perfectly sober despite my slurred words or droopy eye.
This too shall pass.
Mr. Harrison's Class 