I learned this weekend one of the side effects of being completely numb on the left side of my face. I shower daily – sometimes twice a day. I am meticulous about washing myself, especially my face. So I get a good thick lather on my face and in my hair with the shampoo. Then I wash it out.
The problem is that I am so hesitant to hurt myself that I gingerly wash the soap off the left side of my face. And when I towel dry, I very gingerly dry my left ear, hair on that side, and cheek.
I also have long hair. So when I comb my hair after I shower it covers my left ear.
Now that you have the background let me tell you what happened on Sunday. Carey and I were driving to her parent’s house when I got one of those inexplicable itches in my ear. Happens sometimes as my nerves regenerate.
So I reach up to scratch my ear and a fingerful of dried, caked, shampoo and soap comes out of my ear. It was so gross. My ear had dandruff. I was embarassed, but I reached up to clean it out – there was SO MUCH that I couldn’t get it all. I had to go into her parent’s bathroom when we got there to clean it out.
So lesson learned is that I can’t afford to be TOO gentle with my left side just because I can’t feel it.
This also applies to shaving. I used to be a “shower shaver.” I would lather up in the shower and shave by feel. Now, since my face is numb on one side, I can’t risk slicing myself open. I have to shave in the mirror. Very odd.
It’s the little things that get you sometimes. I never had any inkling that this would be of the things I would have to deal with.
