More worrisome medical news:

When I posted that last entry, I failed to mention my tongue being numb the past three days. I failed to mention my watery eye and the numb right side of my face. Why? Because after the blue-lip thing turned out to be nothing, I didn't want to whine over nothing.

It got so bothersome, however, and so worrisome as well that I let Debbie, my office manager, in on it after I'd called my family doctor for an appointment. She insisted I call my OB/GYN, whose office insisted I go to the hospital via EMT.

So long story short, an ambulance ride from work to the emergency room, with Jason following behind (as he was already on his way to take me to my family doctor's appointment), and several doctors/EMT's/nurses running tests resulted in a benign but troublesome diagnosis: Bell's palsy.

This means pretty much what I'd mentioned above, plus some: I can't tightly close my right eye, if I can close it at all. I have a highly lopsided grin right now; when I laugh, I look like Popeye. I even drool a little when eating or drinking sometimes, as my lips don't have proper coordination on my right side. I'll have to wear an eye patch to sleep in, plus hydrate my right eye all day, every day, for a couple weeks. (Of course, contact lenses are right out, no pun intended, if you can believe that.)

What sucks is this: First off, they don't know what causes it. It's damage to a nerve, but they think it could be viral. Or it could be inflammation that's common in pregnancy. Whatever it is, they don't know how it's caused. The second thing that sucks is that they don't know how long it will last. I've heard two weeks to eight weeks to possibly permanently (although Bell's is supposed to be a temporary condition.)

I'll start taking anti-viral meds and steriods tomorrow for this, both prescribed with the OK from my OB/GYN, to make it better. I'm going to follow all the instructions and try to work my facial muscles on that side as much as possible, trying to get the nerve to awaken - it can't hurt.

I'm just sick of all this worry, just before Veronica's birth. It's not like I don't have enough to worry about as it is. And frankly, it's a vanity issue too. I don't want to be this Popeye wife. And when Veronica is born, I want her to see her mommy's smile, her real smile, and not these lopsided lips that have replaced it for who knows how long.