Brooke has Bell's Palsy

Friday was quite a day!

After missing Brooke at camp all week, we went to pick her up at 9 am. She looked tired, but that's to be expected after a week at camp, staying up late, getting up early, and non-stop fun.

Unfortunately, I sent her on Sunday with a massive headache. Monday morning, she had thrown up and was still feeling ill. But, by Tuesday, she said she was much better. She stayed at the camp all week, and insisted she was fine.

Apparently, sometime during the week, Tuesday or Wednesday, one of her eyes became swollen and almost shut. But, later in that day, the swelling went back down, and she was ok.

So...it's Friday, and I have an appointment in Iowa City to get the VW looked at, which I had rescheduled due to our visitors earlier in the week. And, of course the 90 minutes I was quoted turned into about 140 minutes of waiting.

I made it back to Muscatine around 3:30. Brooke seemed ok, but I was wondering why her smile was crooked. She said one side of her face felt stiff and bruised. The other side was soft and squishy. By this time, it was about 4 pm. I called our pediatrician, knowing full well the answer I'd get: "it's Friday afternoon. Go to the ER."

Well, we've done the Muscatine ER enough times to know we should try a different ER. Dan said Mercy in Iowa City. Off we go.





Brooke had an MRI of her brain. She had to stay completely still. She did great. She had her blood drawn for blood tests, specifically the Lyme's Disease. And, she had a throat swab. Tests. Tests. Tests.



Conclusion: Bell's Palsy

Course of treatment: A lot of pills