Well, by tomorrow I will have had Bell’s Palsy for one week. Let me say that it is a very strange experience. For those who do not know Bell’s Palsy is allow me to indulge. Bell’s Palsy is a condition that causes temporary paralysis on one side of your face. This condition bascially prohibits the movement of your facial muscles on one side. In other words, you cannot blink correctly, you cannot talk or chew on that side of your face, and you cannot smile on the affected side either.

This condition happens due to some type of damage or inflammation to a nerve that controls all facial movement on that side of your face. This damage can apparently be caused by one of several possible factors, including the herpes simplex virus (cold sore virus), chicken pox/shingles virus, or even possibly stress, or so I’ve read.

So as a result I am on an anti-viral medication, as well as a steriod to keep permanent damage to this nerve to a minimum. Some of these drugs, however, can cause sleeplessness, which is kinda starting to suck because normally I can sleep at will, but not lately.

I’m also a little self conscious about how I am talking, though not so much on how it looks. At my job I am the Lead Software Architect, which is basically a big fancy title for being nerdier than the other software engineers. It also means that I spend a lot of time TALKING with engineers, in design meetings, and more. With this Bell’s Palsy it is tiring to talk a lot, as the more I do it, the more tired my face becomes from trying to move my mouth. I suppose I’m a little afraid of not being taken seriously when my speech is slurring a little bit every now and again. It’s somthing I’m working on though.

So there’s my story.