You Can't Even Imagine

The story I am about to write is to CRAZY!!  One week ago our family was sent into a major spin..a very scary spin.  It was a typical Tuesday afternoon.  It was about 3:30 and I was walking to get Jack and Molly from the bus stop.  During the day the school nurse called and told me Jack was rubbing his eye because he got soap in his eye in the shower.  I paused for a minute thinking that was strange because he took a shower REALLY early and did not leave for school for some time after.  His eyes were fine.  I thought it was nice of the nurse to call me.  She just thought it was odd and wanted to let me know because his eye did look strange...OK!!






So when I meet him at the bus I INSTANTLY knew there was something VERY wrong.  I took one look at him and started to PANIC!!  I said, "Hey Buddy..can you give mama a smile?"  Half of his face could not smile.  His eye was not blinking and his mouth was drooping.  He looked AWFUL!!  I RAN home..crying and praying the whole way.  Molly and Jack started to freak out.."What's wrong mama?"  I kept looking down at Jack seeing his mouth not opening all the way and his eye not blinking...I was a mess...

I burst into the house screaming to Pete..."Something is VERY wrong with Jack's face.  I am taking him to the Emergency room!"  All the kids start crying..they take one look at him and they know something is wrong.  He was burning up and not feeling good at all.  He had a fever over the weekend but it would go away with Advil.  His speech was slurred and his eye would not close.

We got to the ER and they told us it would be awhile.  I was a wreck..I could not stop crying.  They made us wait about 5 minutes.  They checked him in and the Dr. was there in no time.  They told me it looked like Bell's Palsy and they were going to run some test's to make sure he did not have a stroke, or anything going on in his brain to be cutting off the nerve to half his face.  They put an IV in and we WAITED.  Meanwhile the nurse gave me some info on Bell's Palsy.

After the cat scan showed everything was fine..we knew the Bell's Palsy was a reaction from a virus he must have had.  He got tested for Lyme's but it was not a likely cause because of the fever and other symptoms he was showing.








We were able to go home, which I was thankful...but my baby's face was not OK.  I was pretty upset.  Even though I was SUPER relieved nothing was REALLY wrong, I just could not stop crying.  Every time I looked at him my heart broke just a little.

People were calling, texting, emailing prayers.  My friend had sent out a message to my home school group and the support was amazing.  I felt the prayers.  I felt the grace.

Jack should recover 100%.  Bell's Palsy is rare in small children and the recovery rate is substantial for kids his age.  I will be 100% happy when it is all gone.  His smile is broken he says and he hopes to be able to smile for Emily's birthday.  He melts my heart.  His face looks better already.  The initial swelling went down and his speech returned to normal the day after the Palsy hit.

Bell's Palsy comes on very quickly but can take a long time to leave.  I think when his eye started bothering him at 1:00 is when it began to set in.  By 3:30..he was completely paralyzed on the right side of his face.

He is fine. I am fine.  We will be fine.  Thank you to all the people who worried for us, prayed for us and offered Rosaries for us.  We can't tell you how powerful that has been.