Ice, ice baby

Woke up with a new sensation. I could finally feel, unobstructed, the taste of a food item on the right tip of my tongue in addition to the left. However, this feeling of relief was marred by the fact that the sensation of fire-ants-juggling-thumbtacks has been supplanted by an ice-cold feeling. It literally feels like an ice cube is sitting on my tongue. It's a sensation that isn't painful but annoying and has me reaching for hot coffee. It's persistent.

2nd checkup with the dentist

Today was Day No. 17 with this annoying malady. I described to the dentist that it no longer felt like I was carrying a golf ball in my mouth; rather, it felt like three or four marbles. Couple that with the oddity of feeling like the tip of my tongue was on fire, or a crackling sensation, which the dentist likened to the nerves regenerating. Still problems with speech that prevent me from adequately pronouncing any word with a "s" or a "th" sound to it.

Malpractice, anyone?

A conversation from Facebook

An apology & timetable for healing

After a miserable weekend of mouth paralysis, I get to see my dentist and find out what's happened. He points out where in my mouth the numbing agent was placed and says I'm only the second patient he's ever had where he apparently impacted the lingual nerve. Over the phone on the weekend he had told me recovery time was 4 to 6 weeks, but he adjusts the healing forecast to six to eight weeks - on the upper end, that's two months away!

How am I, a professional communicator, going to function on the job? My coworkers are actually quite accommodating as I learn to speak to them with my limited vocabulary.

Diagnosed with paresthesia

I was injured by a medical professional during a routine dental procedure - replacement of three fillings in my teeth - on June 7, 2012. It was a rare injury caused when the needle used to inject anesthetic left a paresthesia, or numbness, that so far hasn't fully recovered. Paresthesia is so rare many online dictionaries suggest corrections to the spelling. That's because paresthesia impacts less than 1% of the population in a given year.

There's a few articles online about what paresthesia is, but precious few that describe the perspective of someone who is afflicted by it. Forced to endure weeks of discomfort and pain. Forced to suffer in silence. A speech impediment. Anxiety over the exact time frame of recovery. This journal, written in "real time," will help, hopefully.