Letters to the Editor

• I had it too!

  [Read the article: Why me? What did I do to deserve Bell's palsy?]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Dear Letter Writer,

  Don't feel so bad. In the big majority of cases, Bell's Palsy goes away completely.

  I got it last year. I'm 36, with no serious health problems. The docs figured I might have gotten it from a sinus infection or from grinding my teeth.

  My story: One night, I made some dinner, and it tasted really off. I threw out the food because I thought it had somehow gone bad even though I had just bought it a couple days ago. So, my taste buds were all screwy.

  The next morning, brushing my teeth, trying to swish out my water rinse, it just dribbled out. Then I tried to say the alphabet in the mirror and saw I had A Big Problem with the right side of my face. I had a mini-panic, then decided it was probably not a stroke at age 36.

  I called out of work. I went to the doctor's. They thought it might have been Lyme Disease, and ran a test for that, which came back negative the next day. I got an antibiotic for the sinus infection & possible Lyme Disease... I got a steroid to reduce the swelling and prevent more nerve damage... and I think I got an anti-viral also to cover the possible Shingles cause, which I have also had before. Whee! 3 prescriptions for one tiny nerve. Oh yeah, and special moisturizing eye drops from an eye doc to protect my non-blinking eye.

  I added in for my own healing, based on natural or herbal remedies I have read about:

  - Vitamin B-12 (actually a multi B-complex)

  - Olive leaf extract (antiviral, but only take AFTER you are off any antibotics, because it can interfere with their effectiveness.)

  Also:

  - I made sure to have plenty of protein in my diet to help nerve repair

  - I made rest a priority, getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night

  - I did not work any overtime at the office (my job can be very stressful)

  I also bought:

  - Bendy straws so I could drink stuff without dribbling it all over my front

  - First aid tape to tape my eye shut for sleeping

  I had to chew food very carefully since I bit my tongue painfully if I tried to eat like a normal person. I looked weird. I turned down some dinners out because I didn't want to feel like The Beast eating my dinner in public ;)

  Nerves regenerate sloooowly. Like a millimeter a day. It should repair itself but it does take time. Moist heat helps too with the ache you may have.

  Then you just wait for your body to recover. Try not to stress too much about it. Easier said then done, I know. I felt like a freak too, with my crooked smile and 'dead' eye, but most people did not notice for the month or so I had it.

  I was not one of the truly unfortunates who get a severe case where they drool all day, and the muscles are 100% slack... so I took comfort in that it could have been a lot worse. And really, Bell's Palsy is scary in its sudden arrival, but it's not deadly, and you will very likely recover quickly with no ill effects.

  Rest up, and take care of yourself.

  Permalink Friday, October 19, 2007 03:36 PM

• Oh yeah - more on eye taping -

  [Read the article: Why me? What did I do to deserve Bell's palsy?]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  I forgot... Use a gause pad under the tape so you don't rip out a strip of your eyebrow hairs or your eyelashes.

  Accupuncture also sounds like it could help you.

  Try to relax, it will be better for you and your baby if you can take care to destress, and you will recover quicker too I bet.

  Best wishes for you and your baby :)

  Permalink Friday, October 19, 2007 03:42 PM

• The British Library: Holder of "Beowulf"

  [Read the article: "Beowulf" vs. "The Lord of the Rings"]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  If anyone wants to get some more history on the physical copy of "Beowulf" and see an enlargeable photo of a page of it, check out: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/themes/englishlit/beowulf.html

  It narrowly escaped being burned into ashes in 1731, and now has survived to be posted on the Internet... It's even now available, restored, on 2 CD-ROMs through the British Library's "Electronic Beowulf" project of 1993, complete with glossary and full search capabilities. It's strange how the world develops, eh?

  Also... It's funny, and I'm sure no accident, but Tolkien's "Elvish" looks very similar to the lettering on the ancient page shown ;-)

  Permalink Tuesday, November 20, 2007 02:08 PM

• Too pretty.

  [Read the article: A rose is a rose is a rose ]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  I think the ads are too pretty, though absolutely well-intentioned.

  I would go for something more graphic, though not explicit. After all, genital mutilation is a horrendous and bloody crime, not just a clean sewing of delicate euphemistic roses.

  I'd suggest a woman thighs, with a dark rivulet of blood running down, cropped at the bottom, above a white banner at the bottom. In the bottom banner, to the left of the Amnesty International copy and logo, have a collection of the tools commonly used in genital mutilation in a pile: sharpened triangles of metals, homemade knives, shards of glass, dirty razor blades.

  I'm not saying it needs to be blood and gore. I mean, you want viewers to be drawn in, not repulsed, but at the same time, you don't want to sanitize it to the point where they only see a strange-looking flower and read no further.

  That's my opinion at least.

  But I'm glad that Amnesty International is running the ads regardless!

  Permalink Friday, November 30, 2007 04:30 PM