Getting Closer to Normal

I am driving my CRV again. Gingerly, but it's a step in the right direction.

Because of the situation with my left eye, I'm extremely careful. If you're in a rush and get behind me, expect to go the speed limit (frustrating, I know). Take your anti-roadrage pills before getting out there.

But it's wonderful to be free to move about the streets. Walking just doesn't have the same panache.

When I went out for coffee with friends a few days back, I asked the waitress for a straw. Because the drool factor kicks in on the left side of my mouth, a straw makes the act of transferring liquids from cup to lip less likely to slip. Coffee, tea, and a straw...even chicken soup is easier to handle. In my case, it's "Many a sip slips 'twixt the cup and the lip."

The waitress admitted my use of the straw was the first time she'd ever seen it. It makes the act of sippin' a lot easier and a little cleaner, though, so I'll keep right on.

The Breath-Rite strip to open the sinus passage was a first for my doctor, too. The medical community is great at the mechanical repair work, but they don't say much about how a person can deal with the problems of an affliction. I learned more from http://www.bellspalsy.org than I did from the hospital.

Even so, I'm having a huge problem finding a way to protect my left eye and still be able to see. While I was driving the van in the hot weather, I became concerned about keeping the eye moist. I put drops in my eye, but I don't have a way to keep the liquid from evaporating. One doctor gave me a clear plastic cover with foam rubber under it to trap the moisture in the eye--sort of a see-through patch--but it's too small for my eye.

I saw a couple of clear alternatives at the website mentioned above, and stopped in at an optician's to see whether they had anything like that, but no luck. They informed me only an opthalmologist carries such an item, and they didn't have anything like that at the VA. Bummer.

However, a friend stopped over today and commented my left eye is closing better, and my face appears to be beginning to straighten out. I certainly hope she's right.