Hope you all have a wonderful time! 
so pleased that you feel up to it! And well done for getting organised with the home schooling!
2 Likes
That is wonderful. You are my inspiration. ENJOY 
BG
1 Like
Well, I sound like a broken record on here but maybe it’ll help somebody (including me) to read it.
Last night was a celebration. We went to my favorite restaurant. We hadn’t been in a year and a half. The last time I ate there, I felt like I was choking and it was very unpleasant. Last night was wonderful. I enjoyed every bite. It’s a burrito joint. Chips and salsa - am I right?
Came home and was amazed I hadn’t clicked since Saturday. Slept really well. Woke up this morning to…a click with each swallow. Ugh. Rolled over and it still happened. What else to do but GET UP! Gravity sets in and no more click. So, I’m left with some clicking in the morning. Sometimes. But not every day.
Looking very much forward to our getaway in 2 days. Maybe my click will take a vay-cay too. A permanent one.
3 Likes
So glad your day & celebratory meal were perfect. Guess your body just wanted to remind you this morning that it’s still healing.
Leave that click at the vacay spot!! Have a funeral for it there!! Hoping, same as you, that it doesn’t follow you there or home!!
1 Like
Dearly Beloved,
We gather here today to honor the memory Michelle’s click.
Michelle’s click lived a year and a half. At the beginning of the click’s life, it was strong, bold and full of vigor. Not-so-tragically, the click’s life was cut short by two surgical removals of calcified ligaments. Still, it managed to linger even after surgery while dying a slow…oh so slow…death.
I’m struggling to find nice things to say about the click but since this is a eulogy, I will try. The click was unpredictable. You never knew when he would come around. The click was resilient. I couldn’t do much to keep it away. And the click was a crowd-pleaser. Many friends and relatives got to feel it at holiday gatherings.
Unlike other loved ones we lose, this little friend will not be missed. In fact, I’ll be here the rest of the afternoon digging a deep, deep hole in which to bury the click. If anyone here wants to help - please grab a shovel.
Peace be with all of you. (cue Amazing Grace on bagpipes)
2 Likes
, good song choice too!
2 Likes
Your word are so, uh, thoughtful 
, SewMomma. I think you have a future in eulogy writing!! 
2 Likes
P.S. I’ve been training my digging muscles! I’m ready to help!! 
1 Like
Metaphorically, you’ve helped me bury this thing since I first got on here! 
3 Likes
SewMomma, I am so happy that you can now eat and enjoy it! The first time I ate at a restaurant was about 6 months after my surgery. I wanted to have a simple hamburger, and like you, I would have the sensation that something got stuck in my throat, while I was eating…after about 2 bites, I was done! That feeling or sensation is horrible. I cried with tears coming down my face as I took baby bites to eat a kiddie burger. My husband was worried that the sensation of having something stuck in my throat had come back. That was not my problem…I knew that I would be healed and I could actually enjoy eating. Happy for you!
2 Likes
Always here for you, my friend! 
1 Like
Shovel in hand! Let’s dig a hole and bury that devil!
1 Like
We had a wonderful family vacation. It felt good to do something “normal”. The kids were so happy. We had alot of laughs. I enjoyed a few very good (very indulgent) meals and was very thankful for that.
For whatever reason, the click and crunchy swallows kept me in bed this morning feeling pretty despondent. I hate it. I absolutely hate that I have a faint click after all I’ve been through. Still puffy on the outside so I have to believe the healing is still occurring. The thought of having a permanent click feels very realistic to me, though. I still have a little evidence of speech issues from either the first surgery or the second. If it’s the first surgery then I’m convinced after 6 months that’s permanent and that tells me that the click might be permanent too. I feel it’s possible at 7 weeks this is as good as I’m going to get. Even though none of that makes sense because I have several days in a row where I have no click. It’s messing with my sanity at this point and creeping into my general attitude this morning.
I’m going to pick up a mop and clean my worries away. I have a big week with family coming in town. Not the kind of family where I can be “real” if you know what I mean. I’m praying the click stops and I’m praying for grace to get through these next few days. Using some mental imagery of seeing Lion King with the kids next weekend and possibly getting on my new bike for the first time ever next weekend too. I just have to make it one day at a time until the click stops. Or, (because I don’t believe it will ever stop) I accept the fact that it is 100 times better than it was before surgery and I can live with it. But maybe I could pursue why it’s still clicking one day. I need to give it til the end of this year. I’m trying really hard to just give it the full 6 months. This is an incredible test of patience and trust for us all.
2 Likes
It is a test of faith indeed, & even after 6 months improvements can still happen! So bear that in mind…and as a back up plan reassuring yourself that you’re way better than you were before is not a bad idea…I do get some twinges/ very mild symptoms, I think after most surgeries you’re never quite as good as you were before, but remembering how bad it was keeps me grounded! Keep strong!
And very glad that you had a good time with your family!
2 Likes
Hey SewMomma, my friend! My tongue was still showing signs of improvement in months 9-12. I would expect the same for your tongue & click. We see & expect BIG changes after a BIG surgery but sometimes the steps to healing are so tiny we cannot detect improvement until enough tiny steps have happened to reveal the bigger picture - RECOVERY!!
I’m sorry you had a day that felt like a giant step backwards. I know that can be very discouraging! Your attitude remains AWESOME though - keep reminding yourself about how much better off you are now (even w/ a little click) than you were 7 weeks ago when the click was a GIANT, swallow-limiting click. You’re also right that since you’re still seeing inflammation in your neck, recovery is still happening, pressure is still being applied where there should be none & thus old symptoms haven’t disappeared on the schedule for which you have wished. If the swelling persists, I think one more round of Prednisone might be helpful.
I’ll be praying for you this week as you have extra people in your house. May they bless you in unexpected ways.
2 Likes
@SewMomma
Thinking of you and sending hugs. I am with you 100% on the patience this takes. I hope that the family visit is a good distraction.
1 Like
Hello - the family visit was indeed a good distraction and we were definitely blessed. I enjoyed some very good meals. I was click free for days. I woke up this morning with one very weird click but that was it. Trying to see the glass as half full. Slow and steady 
(God was merciful and spared me of the stomach bug that got two of our kids this weekend. Praise the Lord I didn’t get it)
1 Like
SewMomma -
Hooray for missing out on a tummy bug! I think sometimes as moms we’ve already had a lot of what our kids drag home so our wonderful immune systems “take a stand” against those bugs & allow us to be healthy “nurses” for our children. I do acknowledge there are those bugs that take out the whole family (or a battle-weary mom), but hopefully that doesn’t happen too often!
1 Like
SewMomma, I feel that the click will go away. I think you are on the right track. Look for all the positives in the day and remember to be thankful. It helps to overcome the anxiety. I am 4 months plus- beyond the second surgery and I am still healing. I had some not so good days, but I am seeing a lot of improvement and some complete improvement that is making my life so much easier. My face and facial nerve paralysis seems to be 100% healed. I never had a click,but the feeling of something stuck in my throat comes back. I think the nerve that goes to the stylohyoid causes those clicks and the feeling of something stuck in the throat. The nerves related to those feelings are the furthest facial nerves from the ear where the center of all the intracranial facial nerves meet. It takes longer for them to recover.
MY first external surgery was 10 months ago and that side is taking longer to recover, but some of it seems to be from the stress of surgery on the other side. My facial paralysis taught me that the strong side( side that was operated on first) and has healed gets extremely angry at having to compensate for the paralyzed side. I found that out when I tried to force the eye on the good side to stay open when I was trying to force the eye on the other side to close as in trying to force the brain to re-learn a blink. The strong side did not want to do that much work and I got a terrible pain over my eye. Now both sides seem to be easing up simultaneously.
The same thing happens when we injure a foot or leg. The other side gets overworked.
Both sides are still trying to heal completely. It will happen and I hope you will feel better within a few more weeks. Try compiling a 2 month, 4 month,
6 month journal of what symptoms are gone, which are left. It is much easier to see the progress if you do this only every 2 months. It is encouraging to always look back and know that you are better than before because you have a written journal. I tend to forget the improvements of the past whenever I have something else to deal with.
I am getting excited about my progress, but still not ready to proclaim it to everyone after 5 years of searing pain in my ear, face, skull, back and shoulder. At some point, I hope to be confident enough to shout it out. I see my surgeon in November, which is 8 months after the last surgery and 14 months after the first surgery. I am looking forward to going to see him with a big smile and maybe even a Thank You card.
I am amazed and so grateful that I have finally gotten relief and help from all of you on this site and the doctors who consoled me, and tried to help me along the way. I pray this for you and Brooklyn Girl as well and actually everyone.
4 Likes
Emma- your posts are so helpful, & wise- thank you! Glad that things are still improving for you, hugs to you…