Well, woke up today with no problems…well besides the one’s already present. I’m using Visine Tears formula every now and then to get shit nice and lubricated. Wearing an eyepatch after I tape my eye shut with gauze while I sleep/nap. Annoying? Highly.

I’m also wearing it when I go out for the most part. I got some new sunglasses to help with it. A bit on the pricey side, but they help out immensely. I’m relearning to eat and drink with this thing a lot easier. It’s a challenge but fuck it. I’m going to win.

The only new symptom I have today happened a few hours ago. It feels like a small bit of pressure is being applied from the inside on my cheekbone. Not uncomfortable. Just there.

I go to my doctor tomorrow, and get his opinion and hopefully he’ll have something else to say on it, than what those ass hats at the ER did. If you’re reading this. Avoid the ER. They don’t give a shit unless your arm is cut off. Fucking band-aide station!

Smalley

So Tuesday, I woke up and checked my email. My nosed itched. So I went and did the wiggle-scratch maneuver. Or tried to at least. Didn’t really think anything of not being able to at the moment. I just woke up and was still kinda half asleep. So I hop in the shower and do the routine.

That’s when the panic started to set in. I couldn’t move the right side of my face. I got water in my mouth and tried to spit, I had the most god awful trouble. My fucking lips on the right side wouldn’t cooperate. I finish and get out. Goto brush my teeth while looking to see if I could notice any “cosmetic” changes. Like my face sagging. No…but I thought I had a stroke in my sleep anyway. FUCK.

Have Mom run me to the E.R. and this bitch in Triage goes through the usual. Checking my blood pressure, temp, going down the list of questions. Allergic to laytex? Drink? No, and No. We get to the:

Do you smoke? I said no. She said…DO you smoke anything at all. No. You need to tell us if you do. No, I don’t do any drugs of any kind. It could affect your care, ya know, if you don’t tell us. Ummm…GIVE ME A FUCKING CUP. I’LL PISS IN A FUCKING CUP, I’LL PISS IN YOUR POCKET. I’LL PISS IN YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, BITCH. I DON’T FUCKING DO DRUGS. JUST BECAUSE I’VE TATTOOS AND PIERCINGS DOES NOT MEAN SHIT!!!!

Yeah…maybe a little overboard. But while she was jerking around and fucking with me over stupid shit, I was fucking starting to panic again because it started affecting my speech. Words that start with “F” and “P” and shit. My lips just wouldn’t cooperate.

Finally get a goddamn room, and went through all the testing shit. Lose my fucking spikes. My ear tunnels were still there on the counter where I set my fucking spikes for the ct scan, but the spikes were fucking missing for my lips. I told the guy I had aids just in case he fucking took them. Heh.

So yeah…fast forward. Huge fucking headache, can’t move the side of my face. Finally get the ok, that it’s Bell’s Palsy. I get a fucking little packet, a prescription for steroids and fucking vicodin.

It can last 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years, whatever. It can come back at anytime. Apparently something attacked the nerve on the right side of my face that controls the muscles. It’s hard to explain if you’ve never had it. So I’m taking my meds and hoping it goes away soon.

I’m going to keep a Log of changes that happen with this. Maybe someone can learn from it, or just read it for reference.

Day 2:

I woke up and no real changes, save for the fact that it’s not as aggravating as it was yesterday. Just kinda used to it by now.  It’s still a task to drink and eat certain things. I figured out how to whistle again. I have to use my hands to tighten up the pucker on my right side but it works.

I took a nap later this afternoon and woke up and my vision was noticeably worse, and my eye was watering again. So I folded some tissue up and taped it over my closed eye. Hopefully it’ll level out soon. I’m going to be rocking an eyepatch over this little rig job from now on. Just have to go pick it up.

Not bad all around. Now that I’m not worried, I’m joking about dressing up as two face from batman for halloween.

Smalley

The smell is already permeating throughout the house. It’s a wonderful, glorious smell, yet aggravating because I wanna reach in and help myself..

On and Off. On and Off. That’s how things have been going. Up/Down. Nothing really of any note, save for a couple of items:

Sexton got himself jacked up pretty fucking good going too fast down deputy pike. Wrapped his car around a telephone pole. I told him he always wanted to wrap something around a pole. Everyone appreciated the smart ass comments. That’s me. I break up tense times with being a dickhead. I’m smooth like that. He broke his jaw in two places, which they had to reconfigure and stitch up. He’s lucky he didn’t have to have his jaw wired shut. His clavicle is broken too. Then last night he got into it with him mom and threw something through a window. Temper temper. He jacked his clavicle up more. Damn fool.

Due to this, the band is forced into some down time, but that’s ok. He needs time to recover and it’ll just give me more time to upgrade my cymbals and drums. Also, practice with the damn Click Track I bought at Dan’s behest. According to Dan, he’s blowing up and doesn’t do small recordings anymore. But for us, he’s making an exception. I mean hell; this’ll be the third time a band I’m in has been to him. He’s also going to maximize our status and quality and work the shit out of our music. Which ultimately means we may only get 2-3 out of the original 5, but they’ll be totally fucking worth it.

On the cymbal in, Sexton is preaching Sabian. I’m a dapper dan man goddamn it. Actually…I love my zildjians. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and we’re going to go and have an all day testing session when he’s feeling up to it. We’re going to run through Zildjians, Sabians, and Paistes. So I’m sure I’ll find SOMETHING that I like.

I did take a chance and order a couple of Wuhan china’s. 18″, which is my standard china size, and a 12″ which I thought would be a neat little addition, like a splash but with a lot more TRASH. Boy was I fucking right. I took a chance and got two of the best sounding chinas I’ve ever heard. I’m tempted to try a bigger sized one as well, but right now I’m concentrating on building my other cymbals out again first.

Still dealing with headaches. I think it’s mainly stress, but damned I’m getting tired of them. No matter what. They’re stressing me out more than normal. The fucks. I’m doing fairly well otherwise. Hmm…yeah…I’ve wrote enough for now…maybe more soon..heh…

I’m Playing with Pandora!! YAY!

M.