Hi Steph, Mary again. I had complete facial paralysis for several months. It was almost a year before I could close my right eye. However in my case, the facial nerve was damaged in surgery -- not completely severed, but "nicked", and that was enough to cause complete paralysis. Throughout the surgery, they were monitoring the various nerve functions, and they stopped when the facial nerve response showed a decline. I think that's a fairly common practice -- nerve monitoring during surgery. So I hope that means your nerve was NOT severed -- because if it was nicked, they would have measured a drop in response. Also, I do remember them telling me the surgical trauma itself causes some swelling, and the swelling will cause temporary issues. Their description of your facial nerve as "angry" may be consistent with swelling -- which will subside. I think the fact that you came out of surgery with some facial movement is a very good sign. Lots of reasons for hope!
Practical matters -- first, take extra good care of that eye! I used Lacri-lube, especially at night. It is very thick, and it's like looking through vaseline, but it's very durable and long-lasting. Keeping that eye lubed, especially at night, is super important. They sent me home from the hospital with a tube of Lacri-lube and instructions to apply every two hours. Later, we were able to buy it at Wal-Mart. It makes a gooey mess, but it's very effective. Hopefully it won't be long before your eye starts tearing on its own again -- that's all part of the nerve regeneration process.
About facial therapy -- there's lots I can tell you about facial exercises and some really effective techniques my speech therapist used, but for now they probably want you to rest and let that angry nerve calm down. The paralysis may soon resolve on its own.
Short-term memory? Anesthesia + pain meds + general trauma breeds the perfect environment for short-term memory loss! Mine started off pretty bad. It has improved greatly, and I returned to work after four months, but I still have some nagging memory issues. However, fatigue also plays a role. My memory has improved along with the physical recovery. The remaining issues seem to be associated with the hearing loss, and I'm just now learning how to cope with that. If you still have issues down the road, you might want to ask your doctor about neuropsychological testing -- it measures memory and such. But at this point you're a long way from that. Time and rest are good medicine!
I didn't have stitches or a plate, so I can't address that. However, I had neck pain from trying to hold my head up off the surgical site (behind the ear). Some nice muscle relaxers, along with some trial and error with pillows, took care of that.
Random thoughts -- watch out for the Lifetime channel, it's addictive. While I was out of work, I got hooked on reruns of Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. My poor husband got hooked right along with me lol!
Spring must be beautiful in Idaho, and it's just around the corner, right? And speaking of Idaho, are you in Boise? One of my goals is to visit Boise St. and watch a football game on the smurf turf during a snowstorm.
Hang in there! Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or just want to talk. That tumor's gone and you're on the road to recovery!
