From 18th of December 1992 to now my memory and records get more fuzzy. I went back to work after the first of the year and gradually got back to a full load. My eye problem cleared up with no lasting damage. Vertigo went away. My speech was somewhat slurred and I often had to prod food that got too far over on the right cheek back as the muscles were too slack.

I had very little pain except for the eye problem.

What I do remember is in March I looked in the mirror and tried to move the right side of my mouth. I detected a very slight movement and was extremely happy. This correlated with the one mm a day healing process.

Over time, I came back to where I am today. I cannot raise my right eyebrow and my smile is not symmetric. However, in normal relaxed expression the paralysis is not noticeable. Taste, balance and hearing recovered fully.

Over time, I got stronger and within 18 months was quite physically active.

Lasting artifacts include the paralysis noted above, a very small but persistent twitch (fasciculation) at the bottom edge of the platysma muscle (sheet muscle on the side of the neck) that started in May 1996, my nose runs when I chew (mixed up salivary excitation) and some reduced tearing in the right eye.

I probably should have been started on anti-viral drugs immediately. It was apparent that the emergency room and general practitioner physicians did not correlate the outbreak on my ear with herpes zoster. Similarly, I suffered severe eye pain for several days for the same reason. And, back then, there were no internet resources to help me ensure an accurate diagnosis.

The standard medical knowledge is that shingles or Ramsay Hunt particularly comes on when a person is undergoing stress. However, I was definitely not under stress either at work or at home. This also did not correlate with any other recent illness that would have made me more susceptible.

Of course, I wish it would never have happened but the lasting effects are tolerable.