A number of years ago I contracted a condition called Bells Palsy wherein parts of the facial muscles lose their tension causing the tissue to sag and become lose. While it was not painful nor caused me any major discomfort, it certainly felt very strange and it was difficult to dismiss as any time I talked, eat or moved my head I could feel the looseness and lack of sensation in the area. It made drinking somewhat problematic as I could only drink from one side of my mouth or I would dribble liquid down my front like some drunken idiot. It was about the most unusual malady I’d ever had and certainly not one I would care to suffer from again, although as I said, it was not painful or terribly disabling, but it was definitely bizarre and uncomfortable.
Well, as of last Saturday (May 19, 2007) that changed in so far it being the strangest condition I’ve ever had and would gladly trade it, or a host of other maladies, for the condition that I contracted that day. Comparatively, Bells Palsy was a cake walk after what I’ve been through these past 5 days!
The evening prior I started coming down with what I thought was just another ear infection; I get them all the time and they are usually easily cleared up with some antibiotics. Come the following morning and not only did I have a painful ear ache but strangely enough I was suffering from severe vertigo and intense nausea both of which were quite new symptoms for what I had assumed was a simple ear infection. After being unable to contact my doctor and with the symptoms getting worse Jeanne packed me off to the hospital emergency room. As is par for the course it took several hours for me to be seen by the attending physician and by then everything was whirling around at a dizzying pace. The slightest movement of my head sent everything whirling all the faster and the nausea and vertigo to become ever more intense. Talk about feeling helpless and completely out of control! Yikes! I couldn’t walk, get up or sit down without assistance. It was pretty disconcerting, let me tell you! Finally they got me into a room and the doctor came in for an initial evaluation. His prognosis was that I was suffering from a condition known as Vestibular Neuronitis, (sounds lovely, doesn’t it?) Basically it is a viral infection of the nerve that carries balance signals from the inner ear to the brain that is then processed to help us orient ourselves to the world around us. The infection causes the nerve to send false signals, thus the feeling of vertigo and accompanying nausea. Unfortunately there is no cure and all that can be done is to treat the symptoms and wait for the infection to clear on its own which can take anywhere from one to two weeks. In rare cases it can become permanent, something I didn’t even want to contemplate!
To make matters worse, while vertigo is the most common manifestation of this ailment, and it is not normally associated with any form of hearing loss, I had to break the mold and have an almost complete loss of hearing in the infected ear. Well, I could hear, in a way, but unfortunately all I heard was a constant roaring, and was receiving no other auditory input from that side. Again while not a commonly associated side effect, because of the severity of the loss, there exists the possibility, thought luckily not that great a chance, that there may be some permanent damage. I won’t know for sure until the viral infection is completely gone and have had a full hearing test and evaluation from both an oratory and ear, nose, throat specialist. Here again I can only hope that it will go away once the viral infection clears and which most often happens in such cases, but the doctors can’t say for sure. The worrisome part is that some kinds of hearing loss, where the nerves carrying the signals to the brain are affected can lead to recurring periods of vertigo, just as I have been suffering from this past week, and well, as an avid motorcyclist, you can well imagine how happy I am at potentially facing that prospect! Vertigo and motoring are obviously NOT compatible!
So here I sit, stuck in the house, where I have been for the last 7 days. Meanwhile, outside we have had of some of the best riding weather to date; plenty of sunshine with moderate temps in the mornings, clear blue skies in the afternoons, and instead of being out there enjoying it, I can only sit here as I contemplate the possibility that my riding days could potentially be over or seriously limited! While it certainly is very unlikely that I will in fact never be able to ride as I have been improving the past day and as removed as the possibility may be that either condition persists, for the moment it still sits here next to me as I write this and is something I am trying very hard to not get me too depressed. To compound things, its one of those infections that once you’ve had it the likelihood increases of a reoccurrence, at least within the next year or so, and here I have been planning on finally doing within the next year what every avid motorcyclist dreams of, an extended month long cross-country ride. The possibility of suffering a relapse and being laid up for a week or more, somewhere in the middle of my trip, miles from home, could put a real damper on the adventure, to say the least!
It has certainly given me much to think about and has made me realize once again just how much of my life revolves around riding. Just contemplating the possibility of such a loss and the possibility of never again knowing the joyous feeling of the wind in my face or knowing the freedom of flying down the open road on two wheels as I drink in all the glorious sensations that one can only know astride a two-wheeled beast on a quiet two-lane blacktop strung amongst the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains or mapped along the open shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean with its magical blue waters stretching out as far as the eye can see, is almost too much to bear.
So I’ve now come closer than I ever have in my entire life to losing the ability to do that which I love the most and it has made me all the more aware of just how fragile is the line between knowing it for many more years or losing it completely for the rest of my days. As I say, much to think about in 5 short, yet oh! so long, days.
To make matters all the worse it’s the first day of a 3 day weekend when I should be out riding and exploring the hills and mountains or riding down the shore to sit and soak in some sun and watch the seagulls fly over crystal waters while tall white or brightly colored sails cruse the open waters of the bay! So while all you folks will be out riding and enjoying the glorious weather of the upcoming long weekend, I can look forward too is more days hanging around the house, imaging the splendor of a long ride while I work to recover my balance and learning to ignore the ringing in my head hoping beyond hope I will ride again. In all likelihood it will be another week before I can even attempt a ride, so all I can say to all you who will be out enjoying the weekend on two wheels is ………
!!!!!A PAX BE ON YOU ALL THAT ENJOYED THE LONG WEEKEND RIDING !!!!
(!!!!!JUST KIDDING FOLKS!!!!!)
Imagine how happy I’ve been this week??!!
So how was your day?
The RocketMan, NOT (presently) rocketing!
!!!!!!Phooey, Phooey, Phooey!!!!!!!
Addendum May 26, 2007: Well things are looking up (finally!) and I was able to get around pretty good today, even drove the car a bit with no problems and vision and balance are returning to normal and Doc gave me something for the ringing in my ear. So hopefully by next weekend I’ll be out riding again.
As I said, it has given me a lot to think about this past week and all I can say is if you ever get even a hint of an infection in your ear, get to the Doc. Extra quick and bless each day you ride, because you just never know what’s waiting round the bend.
Ride safe my friends that you can ride another day.
