Tuesday, December 16, 2008

6th Nerve Palsy

Shelly has been diagnosed with "6th Nerve Palsy". Everything out on the Internet is pretty technical, so I'll try to break it down. Maybe my friend who is an eye doctor (or any of the rest of you in the medical field) can add a comment to correct my errors.
The nerves that control the eye movements (the 6th nerve) come out near the base of the brain. So they are among the first nerves affected when there is an increase in pressure inside the skull. So say you are in a head-on crash and your head smashes against something even as soft as the headrest, that whipping motion can slosh your brain around inside your skull and put pressure on that nerve. When it does you get certain symptoms. Apparently Shelly has limited peripheral vision and her right eye twitches as it moves from side to side. So she is going to begin treating for that as well. It seems that can be largely treated with special glasses, but it is the first neurological symptom she's had from the accident that I am aware of.

1 comment:

Marc and Jack said...

Hang in there, Shelly. We are praying for you and Bruce. You both have already made great strides and I know you will keep on making great strides. Thank God for your strength.

Marcia and Jack Nelson