What does an occupational therapist do and at what stage of 'healing' would you go to one?
This webpage will hopefully answer that question for you.
http://www.bellspalsy.ws/retrain3.htmHere is part 3 of what Jackie Diels has written
http://www.bellspalsy.ws/retrain3.htmI suggest reading all links at the bottom of her article on this Bells Palsy Website, in entirety, as Jackie has written this up far better than I could.
Part 1 starts here
http://www.bellspalsy.ws/retrain3.htmIf you have any signs of synkenisis this is another good article written about Jackie's work. I shared this with my physicians and this got the ball rolling here for me and other ANA patients in my locale.
http://www.ophth.wisc.edu/publications/fs_summer_04.pdfFlying to see Jackie, at the University of Wisconsin, on a regular basis was not realistic for me (nor affordable with my eldest kid thinking she wants to study biomechanical engineering in University and I wonder how on earth we can afford that tuition). Jackie connected me with someone she trained and graduated from her program, who is based in San Diego, named Wanda Crook. It is long story but with my access to the ANA network, I connected Wanda with my OHSU follow up treatment physician, Dr. NG
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/providers/ngj.cfm. We are having Wanda fly to Portland on a quarterly basis now... where a few years back we had NO one out here in our locale. (After I introduced Wanda to Dr. Ng- I had them present to our Oregon ANA support group.) Wanda is actually now treating a few people from my ANA support group here in Oregon - who before had no access to care and were not able to fly to Wisconsin to see Jackie- due to the costs etc. I suggest you call Jackie directly and see whom in your area/locale she can recommend.
Remember each patient is unique and all our recovery stages and timelines are totally different. This past week my palsy side eye finally produced tears when the wind was hitting my eye while I was power walking in the Arizona desert. I was amazed when I was in arid Arizona I never needed to use eye drops once. (3 years ago I had a stick on eye weight and hoard for eye goop) So that makes it now past 3 years now since my surgery and the full facial palsy I once had… and I am still having small recoveries presenting today. Now I need to see a sappy movie to see if that eye will cry and produce emotional tears.
Know some patients had full facial palsy recovery in less that 6 months… we are all so different. Each patient has his or her own set of variables: tumor size, location, % of residual tumor left behind on facial nerve to preserve it -or complete tumor dissection etc.
There IS a huge learning curve here. I was pretty clueless on physiology a few years back. Now I have read a library, (almost own a personal library now) on this topic and can name the functions of the cranial nerves, particularly the facial nerve and its functions and branches etc, maybe even better than some medical students can on their med- school tests.
It is because this has happened to us we are highly motivated to understand the problem and to find out what can be done to solve it.
You will soon come to realize you are your best advocate and you will need to be the one to seek out information and resources. Many times the ANA has provided me with this information and resources and sometimes I have sought it out and shared it with them so they can share that research I have done- with other patients too.
The successes in my own recovery have been from:
• My motivation to get better and try what I can to do so.
• I had one good physician with excellent listening ears (AKA Dr. NG my ocular plastics guy)
• I had a physical therapist willing to reach out to a group of patients out of her locale (aka Wanda Crooke)
• Which I think the key element and catalyst… the ANA connecting us all together.
Keep reading, researching, and asking questions. This is what will get you the best help. Remember the powerhouse driver down the “road to recovery†has to be you- yourself.
The drive has to come from within YOU.Keep moving forward… the journey is a most interesting one.
DHM