BOOM goes the dynamite!

Before I go on with my continuing stories of fun in school, I need to cover two more things that I left out on weird health issues I have had. My buddy Bryan likes to think I'm trying to cover all illnesses in my life alphabetically. I'm only about 6 letters short, and I hope I never complete the set.

When I worked at WMBN in 1993, I was running the feed for the Detroit Tigers game. Near the end of the game, maybe the 8th inning, I was getting a weird pain in my right jaw. I kind of rubbed it, and kept working. About 10 minutes later, it kind of itched, and I flexed my jaw. What the hell? I had a hard time moving it. I went to open my mouth and the muscles in my face wouldn't flex correctly. within 20 minutes of the initial pain, I went from normal to what the hell? The entire right side of my face had gone dead. I could feel everything, but couldn't move my cheek, or my lips.

I finished the game, left work and went right to the hospital. By the time I got there, I was convinced I had a stroke. My facial muscles were now dead. I couldn't even close my right eye. I had to physically close the eyelid. Talk about freaking out. I was hurried into the room, where they did some of the usual tests.

Was it a stroke? Brain tumor? Exploding scrotum syndrome?

Nope. It was Bells Palsey.

Now right from Wikipdia for those that have no idea what this is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_palsy

"Bell's palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) that results in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Several conditions can cause facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, and Lyme disease. However, if no specific cause can be identified, the condition is known as Bell's palsy. Named after Scottish anatomist Charles Bell, who first described it, Bell's palsy is the most common acute mononeuropathy (disease involving only one nerve) and is the most common cause of acute facial nerve paralysis.
Bell's palsy is defined as an idiopathic unilateral facial nerve paralysis, usually self-limiting. The hallmark of this condition is a rapid onset of partial or complete palsy that often occurs overnight. In rare cases (<1%), it can occur bilaterally resulting in total facial paralysis.^[1][2]
It is thought that an inflammatory condition leads to swelling of the facial nerve. The nerve travels through the skull in a narrow bone canal beneath the ear. Nerve swelling and compression in the narrow bone canal are thought to lead to nerve inhibition, damage or death. No readily identifiable cause for Bell's palsy has been found.
Corticosteroids have been found to improve outcomes while anti-viral drugs have not.^[3] Early treatment is necessary for steroids to be effective. Most people recover spontaneously and achieve near-normal to normal functions. Many show signs of improvement as early as 10 days after the onset, even without treatment.
Often the eye in the affected side cannot be closed. The eye must be protected from drying up, or the cornea may be permanently damaged resulting in impaired vision. In some cases denture wearers experience some discomfort."

Ok, swell. This lasted me almost 3 months before the nerves came back. I still have a small droop to my right eyelid from the illness. Turns out I had a small infection the caused the nerve to be pinched in my jaw. But I pretty much fully recovered.

Part Two.
Have you ever started to nod off to sleep and you hear a LOUD bang, kind of like an explosion or a gun go off? You awake and there is nothing wrong, or happening? I had this happen to me for 10 long years. It always just scared the hell out of me. After awhile I just accepted it as part of going to sleep. Over the years it would get louder and louder until it got to the point that my ears were ringing after I was jolted awake.

It took me 10 years to get it diagnosed. What was it? Maybe you'll laugh your butt off like I did when I found out what is was, and what it is called. Now if you have EVER had this happen to you, I want to hear from you because to this day, I have NEVER spoken to someone else that went through this.

Exploding Head Syndrome.

Yup, that's what it's called. Exploding Head Syndrome. No, the head doesn't literally explode, but it sure sounds like it when you're sleeping. Straight from Wikipedia once again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_head_syndrome

Exploding head syndrome is a form of hypnagogic auditory hallucination in which the sufferer sometimes experiences a sudden loud noise coming from within their own head. The noise is brief and is usually likened to an explosion, roar, gunshot, door slamming, loud voices or screams, a ringing noise, or the sound of electrical arcing (buzzing).
This noise usually happens at the onset of sleep or within an hour or two of falling asleep, but is not necessarily the result of a dream.^[1] Although the sound is perceived as extremely loud, it is usually not accompanied by pain. Attacks appear to change in number over time, with several attacks happening in a space of days or weeks, followed by months of remission. Sufferers often feel a sense of fear and anxiety after an attack, accompanied by elevated heart rate. Attacks may also be accompanied by perceived flashes of light (when perceived on their own, known as a "visual sleep start") or difficulty in breathing. The condition is also known as "auditory sleep starts". The associated symptoms are varied, but the benign nature of the condition is emphasized and neither extensive investigation nor treatment are indicated.^[1] Sufferers may experience an inability to vocalize any sound, or mild forms of sleep paralysis during an attack.

Luckily it has been several years since I have encountered this. I would never in a million years be able to explain how this sounds when it happens. ONLY if it has happened to you, would anyone understand.

Anyways, back to the norm tomorrow, I'll tell you how a ketchup packet can be used as an explosive device.