Some Paralysis?

Haven't been on my follow up doctor visits yet. In the interim I've noted that there is no way I can make any voluntary motions on the right side of my face. Smiles and frowns happen only on the left side of the mouth. Can't arch the right eyebrow, pull back the right corner of the mouth, or blink just the right eye. And I still can't close the right hand all the way.

Given that the right side of my head whacked the road pretty hard, I've got the damaged helmet and head fractures to prove it, and I needed three minutes of CPR to start breathing on my own again I'm lucky those are the only problems. Still I'll be asking the doctor whether there are therapies to improve the situation. Among the things that might be done my first preference will always be physical therapy. Surgery, while it is certainly the only solution to some problems, is my least favorite option for anything.

I've still got a surgical pin in my left knee from 1983 when I broke my knee cap. Surgery to repair it included removing the smallest pieces of bone and installing a pin to fuse together the largest pieces. After recovery from surgery and follow up physical therapy indicated things were well on the mend the surgeon wanted to schedule a follow up surgery to remove the pin. I asked why it needed to be removed instead of being left alone. The surgeon couldn't describe any short or long term contraindications to leaving the pin in. His driving desire for removing the pin was because "that's the way they always did it." I elected not to have the surgery.

I'm hoping the same for my face. That there will be therapies to practice that don't involve surgery which can restore some if not all the mobility to my face.