HELLOOOOOO...

I have gone from an OK blogger to a REALLY bad one!! Lots has happened...and I certainly have more time so I could update this more often but I just don't! I guess since I put stuff on Facebook and keep it updated, I forget to put it here too. Can you believe that Christmas is upon us again? This year...especially the last few months have gone SUPER fast!

The big news, in case any of you are reading this and haven't seen it any place else is that I HAVE SOME MOVEMENT in my face!! Yep, after 15 years and 2 operations (the last being 2.5 YEARS ago) something is happening in there! Now don't get too excited...it is not like my face is all of the sudden back to normal BUT, at this stage in the game, I am ECSTATIC about ANY movement!! The last surgery I had (the Temporalis Tendon Transfer = T3) connected tendons from my lip to the muscle in the jaw. Therefore, any movement that I had was a result of me clenching my teeth thus giving me a HINT of a closed mouth smile. I have noticed some strange fellings (even though I have no feeling in the right side of my face?) the last couple of weeks so the Friday before Thanksgiving, I looked in the mirror at a stoplight. Lo and behold, I could move that side of my mouth without clenching my teeth (or placing my tongue on the roof of my mouth like I did after the 1st surgery (12/7 graft) - even could move it with my mouth open!! I emailed my surgeon in Baltimore (love that man) and he emailed me back to say that it is very rare but could happen! I asked him if this was "supposed to happen because if so, I missed that part!"!! Again, it is not much - but I'll take it!! A few people have mentioned that I have been so patient...um...like I had a choice?? I can't believe that on the 12th of this month it will be 15 YEARS since I had my Acoustic Neuroma surgery! Time flies when you are having fun...even sometimes when you think you are not!! :o) LOL!