ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Facial Issues => Topic started by: Debbi on July 31, 2008, 09:30:26 am
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Okay, I know I am stretching here, but I did come up with one positive thing about having a non-functional face!
Some of you may have had mom's who always told you to take smaller bites and to eat slower ... well, turns out that having a mouth that doesn't work particularly well forces you to take smaller bites, hence eating slower ... and eating less!!! So the upside here is that those of us who have to watch our weight (ahem) find it easier to consume less calories! See - all good! ;D
Just thought I'd try to find something good about this - becasue the smile sure isn't looking poster-perfect these days ... :-\
Debbi
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Debbi -
just wanted to say that it's wonderful and very refreshing that you can always look at the bright side of things. Truly a God-given talent :)
You definitely belong in that special club of very optimistic people along with Kaybo, Nancyann, Jeff - and many, many more.
Thanks for bringing your sunny disposition to the forum - I hope you stick around here for a very long time (with all your "issues" resolved, obviously)!
Jan
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Deb~
I have found many positive things about the facial paralysis. I can't think of them all right now, but I will put on my thinking cap while Addi & I are out running errands. The biggest positive for me is that since I have no feeling, the surgeries and different procedures are a piece of cake (pain wise)as well as scratched corneas!!
Halloween is much quicker and easier since you don't have to spend as much time on your face...
K ;D
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I went back to work teaching 3rd graders on Halloween. No need for an elaborate costume. lol
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Remember when your mother would say "Stop making that face or it will stay that way!" Guess she was right! ;) ;) ;) ;)
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Debbi:
Your successful attempt to find a pony under a pile of horse dung is impressive. Actually, you're right. Eating less is one of the only realistic methods of losing weight, so your logic is sound, making facial paralysis almost, kind of, more-or-less positive. ;)
Jim
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Gee, I think I'm onto something here!
We've added halloween to the list, threats to scare the kids with, no-pain facial surgery ...
I came up with another upside, too - it saves me money! Yes, money. :o I no longer have to buy mascara, eye shadow or makeup remover. AND, when I order a bowl of pasta in a restaurant, I get filled up by the time I have cut half of the penne into itty, bitty bite sized pieces, so I can take the remaining half home for lunch the next day ... thereby, you guessed it... saving money!!
And you all thought having a lazy face was just a bummer... ;D
Debbi, trying to make sure the glass is at least half full...
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It has come in handy for me also when disciplining my son. You know when you tell kids to do something and they come back with something silly and laughing or smiling is not appropriate? I just turn my head to the side where he cannot see my good side smiling. On several occasions, he's made the comment that he can tell I didn't think his comment was funny and he apologized. It's like getting a two for one special. ;)
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I was able to play a great practical joke on my hubby once - I can never keep a straight face so I just turned so my right side was to hime!!
K ;D
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What a GREAT thread. Even though I do not suffer from facial paraylsis, reading everyone's positive comments has definitely made my day. Ya'll are TERRIFIC.
Julie
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And I thought of another one... no wrinkles on the AN side!!!
Debbi
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Debbi,
I started out reading your thread out of curiosity. I'm glad that I did. Awesome! ;)
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Your successful attempt to find a pony under a pile of horse dung is impressive.
Excellent quote, Jim.
I'm going to have to remember this one! ;D
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And I thought of another one... no wrinkles on the AN side!!!
Debbi
We could do commercials! Show the two sides of our face and claim one side used the amazing XYZ wrinkle cream and the other didn't. They wouldn't have to show our whole face, they could just do a close up of our forehead, the corner of our mouth, etc. I hear Hollywood calling... ;D
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Debbi and all
This was one of those posts that definitely deserves long term attention. Debbi there are two presidential candidates that could use your way of putting a positive spin on things. And Kay, that was one of the funniest things I've read yet -- turning your straight-face to Dave. This thread really cheered me up. Thanks Debbi and team!
David
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David~
When I have more time, I will tell the WHOLE story - it was a good one. I am NOT one to think/play practical jokes, but my friend thought it up - I just executed it... ;D
K
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OOOOOOOhhhhhh, K - enlighten us, please :D
This sounds like a great story ;D
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OK so, here it is:
About a year after I had surgery, I decided to start a garden. We lived in a rent house in Round Rock and it had a raised plot in the backyard that I thought had been a garden at one point so I thought I'd make the most of it. I was working full time and I guess I had just had the 12/7 in January. It was Spring Break so I had the week off & thought that would be a good thing to do during my time off. I kept getting SUPER tired and was only able to do a little bit at a time (I figured out later that I was pregnant). I was out hoeing (sp?) trying to work the soil when all of the sudden, I looked & I had chopped something in half. Of course I ran SCREAMING into the house - Dave was at work & I called him and naturally I also had to call me parents and tell them! What had happened is that we had had a RAT in our garage earlier in the winter - it must have been a tough ole bugger because it had chewed up the wires in the engine of my car AND the big orange extension cord to our Christmas lights (that was plugged in)!!! Anyway, when the exterminator came, he told us that the rat would eat the poison and then just crawl away to where it lived to die - apparently, that was the "garden" plot of land! Needless to say, I received LOTS of ribbing about the rat and calling Dave HYSTERICAL but wouldn't you have been a little freaked if you had chopped a rat in half??? A couple of weeks later, I was at the home of a student that his mom & I had gotten to be really good friends - she brought us meals and helped take care of me after my surgery. They were/are REALLY into juicing and eating VERY healthy and had gotten us started "juicing" as she thought that this would really aid in my recovery. We were making juice and just visiting and she was going to juice a beet - she wacked the end off and then she looked at me and smiled. It had a LONG root on it...she gave it to me and told me to put it in one of the cabinets in the kitchen with the "tail" hanging out so it looked like there was a rat in the cabinet!! I did it and when Dave got home, I walked into the kitchen and then started screaming - that is where the paralyzed face came in handy!! He got a broom and was ready to do some business - I think his blood was really pumping!! He opened that cabinet and was ready to wack the snot out of that rat and it was only a beet root!!! I DEFINITELY got the last laugh on that one!!! I just don't think that there could have been anything that looked more realistic! You know, I haven't heard anything about the rat incident in years...
K
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LOL! ;D
Yet another positve (sorta) spin on facial paralysis. For anyone wanting to play a rat joke on their spouse...
Debbi
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Kay,
You are "EVIL" as our friend John says....."Diavolo!"
I'm still laughing,
Anne Marie
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K:
Thanks for a funny personal story that demonstrates how having little-to-no facial movement can help you trick another into believing almost anything, because your expression doesn't give the joke away. I don't believe in gambling (it's always a losing proposition) but when looking for 'the upside of facial paralysis' the thought crossed my mind that someone who cannot show much facial expression would be tough to 'read' when playing cards. :)
Jim
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Kay
That is hillarious. I'll have to keep that trick in my hip pocket if a straight face is ever called for.
David
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Highly amusing story, K ;D ;D ;D ;D
Thanks!
Jan
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Shortly after my AN surgery,( right eye won't blink ) Mt wife and I attended my grand daughters ballat recitle? My wife noticed her winking at me. Later when asked why?? Her reply,,,, Papa was winking at me.
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I just got a new pair of glasses and while they were adjusting them for me before I left the store they tightened them up a bit so they wouldn't fall off when looking down. The last couple of days I noticed that the right side catches when I pull them off to put ointment in my eye again. I then decided to try and adjust the glasses a bit by figuring out why they caught on the right side and not the left. I have a pretty good size dent in my head on the left side from the facial nerve sugery so that's why the glasses come off easier! Thank goodness for the dent!