But Is It a Stroke?

As a diabetic I've gotten used to hearing that I am xx% more likely to have (insert some other horrible disease or condition here) than a normal, non-diabetic person. Of course I'm scared of getting any one and/or all of these, but one that scares me marginally more than the others is the stroke. I think it is because I figure that once a person has a stroke that person sooner or later has to go into a store with the sole purpose of buying a scarf to cover their stroke face.

I very much want to avoid that shopping trip at any and all costs. Sometimes if I don't feel like working out I tell myself, "Fine. Don't go. Let's just schedule up that trip to the scarf store right now." This normally works.

So, this morning I'm at the dentist. Again. And the hygenist shoots me up with a lot of anesthetic in the lower left part of my mouth. After a few minutes she asks me if I'm numb and I wasn't really sure so I answered, "Sort of." So in she goes with the water thing and the scrapey thing, and it hurts some but not enough to admit that I might need another injection. This continues for another minute when my right eye starts to feel sort of funny. Like it's swollen or something. Then WHAM! the whole right side of my face goes totally numb and it feels like an old balloon that has lots its air and is all scrunched together.

I totally freak out. I think, "Oh god, it's happened. I've had the stroke." I completely fall apart, especially after the hygenist says, "No, it's impossible for your right side to be numb" when I want to hear: "Oh, this is perfectly normal. Happens all the time." When she finally believes that yes, I have absolutely no muscle control over half my face she hurries away for the dentist. That's definitely what you want to have happen. And back they come to discuss the "interestingness" of my situation. I feel a little better when the dentist explains that it is, indeed, possible for what is happening to be happening. Apparently I have a rare pattern of nerves. I guess if you have to have to a rare anatomical condition this one isn't so bad. Still, come on Universe...How about a rare condition that is very attractive and also makes me a lot of money? I'm not sure what that would be, but I'm pretty sure it's not my job to come up with the specifics, anyhow.

Anyway, you'll be happy to learn that I have dodged the scarf store bullet for another day. I can almost feel almost all of my face again. And any day when you can say that can't have been all that bad, can it?