Hi from a newbie on the site.
There were a lot of topics covered in this question, so I'll try to address some of them from my experience:
1. Help for the eye - my right eye does not close, and early on (probably 2-3 years after surgery), I had one stitch done to raise my lower lid and about one year later, another stitch done. This was done by an Opthamalogist as outpatient surgery. It has definitely helped. The healing was fast. Another thing that I had done about 2 years ago (at the suggestion of another Opthamalogist) was a "plug" in the tear duct. It's very easily placed (can't see it) and helps hold the artificial tears in longer without spilling out. Another thing that helps me is my "crocodile tears" when I eat - I have to be hungry though! This is pretty embarrassing at restaurants, but it's just another inconvenience and creates interesting dinner conversation! Lubricant is a must every night and I don't bother removing all of it in the morning because it helps keep the eye moist during the day. Eye makeup is impossible because of this. I highly recommend the sunglasses too and I wear regular glasses during the day - helps keep things out of the eyes. I basically "baby" my eye and it has paid off.
2. I was 15 when I had my AN removed, had zero movement on the right side of the face so they decided to do a nerve graft (to my shoulder/neck muscle) about a year after the surgery. After a few months, it gave me a little movement with much concentration. Because I was so young, I really didn't pay attention to the technical names of the surgeries and cannot quote the terms as fluently as others on this site. I have lived with this limited (very unsatisfactory) movement for 40+ years until I found Diana Farragher in England last summer. I've started using the Neuro 4 transmitter and have seen some improvement. It's a really long, arduous process though. You can find more information on her website and I definitely recommend her book "Loss of Face".
www.dianafarragher.co.uk.
Nancy Ann - I admire your spunk and am in awe of all of the information that you provide to the others. I'm glad that the T3 surgery worked for you. Because I had some movement (after the shoulder/facial anastamosis in 1967), I was always reluctant to have them "cut" again on me.
Best wishes to all,
Jan D
