MANILA, PHILIPPINES. I have stayed in the Philippines for almost a year now. I went home from Canada to heal my chronic jaw pain, which points to an illness called trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Living with TN is not as sweet as the sound of this illness. Over the past few months, the consistent numbness of my left cheek, half of my tongue and my head signals fear that challenges my sense of optimism and resilience. Whenever this happens, I usually withdraw from the social scene and make sure that I am alone. Being with myself allows me to face the painful “I”, grasping its essence, recognizing its presence. In this lonesome moment, my body is at its weakest, my mind at its lowest, but my heart and spirit never waiver, reminding me of the beauty of the people and the environment around me. The smile of my mother, the grit of my father, the humour of my brother and the laughter of my nephew are just few of the many blessings that keep me going.
Hi Clarence!
I am also a Thomasian like you. I remembered you were one of the guest speakers during the Engineering Leadership Training Seminar in Subic. That’s way way back 1999 or 2000.
Like you, I also have TN which was diagnosed December last year. I was on Lyrica for 6 months and stopped lately since I am planning to get pregnant. TN meds and Pregnancy doesn’t get along pretty well. That’s the dilemma of women with TN like me. I am praying that I will not have a relapse anytime soon. I just drink Polynerv 500 2x a day as therapy. So far, so good!
Your blogs are inspiring. Let’s pray for miracles. God bless you.
Lamie