Because my life is full of amusing synchronicities, been watching Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist. Great show where the main character accidentally gets limited telepathy (due to a malfunctioning MRI & and earthquake. Just roll with it). And that allows her to hallucinate people singing and dancing what they really feel inside. It’s great. Did I mention that it’s great?
One of the characters in the show is Zoe’s dad, who suffers from progressive supranuclear palsy (facial paralysis, limited body movement). So, hearing him is a -blessing- to Zoe. And astonishingly heart-wrenching since he only has a limited time left to live. Peter Gallagher, who plays the dad in this role, is a treasure.
Kind of hard to watch since my father just died. But great show.
Then I wake up this morning with half my face melting. Um…
Okay. This is bad. I’ve had a roommate who had a stroke before. An in-law as well, and my grandmother.
Howerver…
This is not following all the symptoms of a stroke. What the hell?
Quick call to the nurse (no, I will NOT Google it now. Experts are needed ASAP) because driving to the hospital with a stroke is stupid with a capital S. The nurse determines it doesn’t sound like a stroke but get to Urgent Care NOW!
Oh? I ask what else does this?
Bell’s Palsy.
Heard of it? I hadn’t before I googled it.
Turns out it’s an uncommon thing that many people run into, in their lives. It’s when the seventh cranial nerve gets inflammed / damaged and your left side of the face goes “nope. Not going to work no more. Recovery time is from a couple of weeks to half a year.
Went to the Urgent Care. They went “OMG! What are you doing here?!?! That could be a stroke!!! (but it really looks just like Bell’s Palsy)”
Went to check into the ER “Oh! That could be a stroke. But it looks like it’s probably Bell’s Palsy.”
Was wheeled in and checked out by a doctor. “Hunh. Could be a stroke. But it’s Bell’s Palsy. Still. We should do all the tests and talk to the specialist.”
Which led me to ending up diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. It’s not as bad as it may sound but still, oh, memorable? I look kind of like a rent-a-pirate? Yaargh. And I also had my head stuck in a CT scan (wondering when the earthquake would hit and I got psychic powers like Zoe )
In the places my ancestors called their home (notably Uppland and Siorrachd Dhùn Phris), conditions like this were placed under the category that you (the one with the condition) had somehow pissed off the elves. Or got in the way. Maybe they considered it funny. Or possibly poignant. They’d say it was caused by elf-shot, or elf-stroke (from where the term stroke came from).
Beltaine, May 1st is one of the holidays when those forces tend to make their presence more known in the world.
Lucky me.
I immediately had some fresh cream put out front in a wooden bowl. Shouldn’t take any chances, right?
All in all, um, a unique Beltaine.
Oh… did I mention that the woman in front of me at Urgent Care was seeing lights out of the corner of her right eye that wouldn’t go away?
Did you think it was just me that strange things happened to? Heh.