The Bells ... The Bells ....

Woke up last Thursday morning with a weird taste in my mouth, but thought nothing of it as I've been suffering from hay fever so figured it was that ... Friday morning I realised my right eye wasn't performing too well as I was unable to close it independently, so off I toddled to the toilets at work to examine my face in the mirror. Tried raising my eyebrows, left went up, right made a token effort .. Tried smiling, full works on the left, right stayed solid, and I looked like a pirate in full "Argh, me 'earties" mode.

Mentioned it to a couple of friends and updated my Facebook status, within seconds Facebook Friend Andy sent me a message suggesting I was suffering from Bells Palsy and a helpful link to the Bupa webpage on the afflication.

So ...:

• Lack of mobility in one side of the face? CHECK
• Lack of taste - CHECK
• Hearing distorted on one side - CHECK
• Eye not closing on it's own - CHECK
• Loss of feeling in lips - CHECK

Monday was the earliest I could get to the doctors, and Andy was right - Bells Palsy it is. The Doctor kindly gave me the week off work, due to my right being unable to close and computers being bad for non-closing eyes .. (Yes I know I'm using one now - but I only use it for 20 minutes a day as opposed to 8 hours plus at work).

So this week, I have been mostly winking at people then having to explain that I'm not coming onto them but infact I'm unable to blink, have to request a straw when ordering a drink otherwise it goes everywhere, cut my food into small pieces so I can eat without a bib, and wearing sunglasses pretty much constantly to help my poorly eye. Only another 3 weeks or so to go ...

Want to see what I look like with Bells ...? You may want to ensure small children aren't in the vicinity of the computer screen before scrolling down:


I warned you .... This is a demonstration of 'The Pirate Look'.

On the plus side, I can now raise my left eyebrow by itself, always wanted to do that. (But I did discover today I can no longer whistle!)