I made my early morning walk to the bathroom and began the ritual teeth brushing. Then I felt the right side of my face freeze. I flipped the light on and there it was, a sagging, frozen face. I knew what it was immediately, but to be sure, I ran to my partner, Mark asking it he could see “it”. He answered with a hug. Yes, my facial nerves were reacting.
Dr. Parsa scheduled an immediate MRI and the results still looked fine. The tumor was probably just swollen, irritated and pressing against the neighboring facial nerve.
As the months went by the facial “seizures” increased from 2 or 3, to a dozen times a day making me look like "Pop-Eye the Sailor Man" for 2 minutes at a time. The “spinning spells” increased and often followed the Pop-Eye experiences. All is irritating, but doesn’t interfere with activities.
I continued to pray, exercise, practice yoga, play golf and write (as if you can’t tell about that).
I was checked periodically to be sure the little nuisance didn’t return. Regardless, I was still grateful to Dr. Lars Leksell (inventor of the Gamma Knife Surgical process) and the team at UCSF for the beautiful and full life I live and enjoy in Sonoma.
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