In my last post, I told you all that I had come down with Bell's Palsy. Well, a few days after that, I discovered some little bumps in my left ear (the left side is the paralyzed side) and remembered reading somewhere that bumps in and around the ear on the affected side indicated a different diagnosis. Great. So, on the morning of November 20th, I returned to Hospital Infanta Luisa to get a same-day appointment with one of the doctors. I was successful.
Dr. Mata -- wait, let's stop and laugh at the ironic name first (Dr. Mata in Spanish means "doctor kills") -- ok, moving on... Dr. Mata took one look at my ear and determined that I do not have Bell's Palsy, I have Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. Not good.
Here are some details about Ramsay Hunt Syndrome according to this website: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002613/
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a painful rash around the ear that occurs when the varicella zoster virus infects a nerve in the head.ok, and?...
The varicella zoster virus that causes Ramsay Hunt syndrome is the same virus that causes chickenpox (varicella) and shingles.
In people with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, the virus is believed to infect the facial nerve near the inner ear. This leads to irritation and swelling of the nerve.interesting; and?...
The more severe the damage, the longer it will take to recover, and the lower the chance that you will completely regain normal function. [Awesome.] If there is not much damage to the nerve, then you should get better completely within a few weeks. [Oh! Actually, for real awesome!] If damage is more severe, you may not fully recover-- even after several months. [Boo.]
Overall, chances of recovery are better if the treatment is started within 3 days of when the symptoms begin. If treatment is started at this time, 70% of patients make a full recovery.
However, when the treatment is delayed more than 3 days, the chances of complete recovery drop to about 50%. [What?!] Children are more likely to have a complete recovery than adults. [My inner-child argues that I am more child than adult.]
Recovery may be complicated if the nerve grows back to the wrong areas (synkinesis), which may cause inappropriate responses, such as tears when laughing or chewing (crocodile tears). [Um, weird.] Some other people may experience blinking of the eye when they talk or chew food. [That must be annoying!]So, on the positive side, my rash wasn't too severe.
On the negative side... I did not start treatment within 3 days of getting Ramsay Hunt, Dr. Mata rated me at a 5 on a scale of 1 to 7 for severity (7 being the worst), it could take 15 days or several months to heal, and my eye has been quite blurry lately. Not cool.
After diagnosing me and warning me that some people never recover (that's always nice to hear), the doctor prescribed a ridiculously expensive anti-viral to take for 7 days, a pill to protect my stomach while taking the anti-viral, continued tapering off of the steroid I'd already started, and a gel to put in my eye at night.
I was lucky to have my friend, Grace, along with me at the doctor. Hearing bad news is usually a little easier with a friend along for support. She also accompanied me on the long search for my meds. We had to go to pharmacy after pharmacy before finally getting everything.
After hemorrhaging money on the doctor and meds, I ended the evening on a positive note, buying and then eating a Reese's Cup 3-pack from the only store in which I've seen them in Spain (VIPS) and they were simply delicious!
Now, about 9 days later, I've finished my round of anti-virals and I'm nearly done with the steroids. My lips are working a little better but I still can't smile, sip, blow up a balloon, or blink my left eye.
Right now, I'm just waiting in expectation of God's healing. While this can all get a little scary and overwhelming (p.s. NEVER go snooping for more info online... it's just scary!), I know that there are lots and lots of people praying for my complete and quick recovery (THANK YOU!), and I trust that God will heal me.
Many people have asked if I'm going home, and right now, that's not the plan. I have an amazing Christmas adventure I'm looking forward to and so much to do and see before I leave Spain! I like to believe, instead, that I'm just going to get better.
To aid in keeping my spirits up, I have compiled a list of some things for which I am thankful, which, I think, is very appropriate with this being the holiday season and all. So, here goes...
- Prayers of friends and family
- Doctors who speak English (so much easier to explain what's wrong)
- Friends who go with you to doctors... or looking for doctors... or looking for medicine
- Skype
- YouTube
- A VERY understanding school who told me to go home and rest until I'm better when I showed up with half my face not working
- WONDERFUL teachers at the school who check in on me and give me hugs "since your dad isn't here" (I told one teacher that my dad gives the best hugs, and that a Dad hug was all I really wanted)
- Skype
- 17, 18, and 19 Kids and Counting (seriously, addicted)
- Eye drops
- Yoga pants
- A sense of humor
- Sassy roommates
- Skype
- Sunshine
- Internet
- My Snuggie!
- Crepes...from Paris
- My winter coat
- Skype
- The kids I tutor who laughed when I told them they could call me Two-Face for the next few weeks while I recover
- Getting paid on time
- Hot soup
- and so much more! :)
Feel free to leave some of your thankfuls or some encouragement in the comments!
I am thankful that you are my sister and my children's aunt. Your courage, sense of humor, and faith in the Lord are wonderful gifts that I know my children can look up to-and me as well :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Allison, thank you! What an encouraging note!! I'm soooo glad that you're my sister too and I miss you, Shaun, and those little munchkins like crazy!
DeleteStory time... so, after this post, I went to one of my private tutoring sessions with triplet, 10-year-old girls and, not only did it go well, they also invited me to stay for a snack! Cool! As I was drinking my hot chocolate, I explained that it's still hard for me to drink from a glass. So, one of them got me a straw. Ahh, better. Then, their mom told me to wait a minute and disappeared with one of the girls. I talked with the other two about the U.S. and what we eat for breakfast, and normal topics like that. ;) And when the other two came back to the table, they gave me a whole packet of straws!! They had left really quickly to go buy them for me!! Isn't that fantastic! -- Thankful for Pilar, Carmen, Maria Jose and their mom, Pilar.
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