The eye is definitely doing better since I started using the tape again. When I carefully remove the tape in the mornings, I can really feel the difference. No more dryness or eye strain. Just a few minutes to focus and adjust to the light.

The vertigo is still apparent and is quite annoying late at night. Imagine needing the loo in the middle of the night and jumping out of bed half asleep. Yea? Well I often forget that my balance isn't quite there and I end up with a face full of wardrobe, wall and door. Hilarious... night after night after night... hmmmm.

Most of the day has been spent dealing with business calls, website work and watching the news. The Gulf War has just started tonight just before 20:00 and a few hours before the 1am deadline as a pre-emptive strike against possible chemical munitions directed towards the southern allied forces.

Another worry is the serious virus outbreak in the Far East which has infected about 120 people in Hong Kong, some in Germany, UK and Canada and China with 9 deaths. The World Health Organisation has issued a world-wide warning to the threat after it appeared on 3 continents. Governments in Japan, Singapore and Thailand have warned against travelling to Guangzhou in China and Hong Kong.

Oh yea, forgot to mention... my parents flew over to Hong Kong last week and are going to Guangzhou. Isn't that great eh?

I had to get a taxi to the building site tonight and found myself feeling a bit queasy. I had hoped that I would be able to handle the travelling enough to gauge a return to driving. Not yet though mate. Not by a long way. Damn.

Whilst in the cab I also felt a fair bit of earache on the right hand side. This hasn't been much of a problem until tonight so there's an extra parameter that I need to monitor.

I think the earache that I felt yesterday has magnified the effects of the vertigo. Although things have been improving of late, I have noticed that things are feeling more 'abstract' today and I have walked into a number of daily objects. I'm not dizzy or feeling sick, just more unstable on my feet than usual.

I had to go on site for a few minutes to take a look at the data/voice cables and to return some hardware but the worsening balance meant that this trip was one of the worst for quite a number of weeks. I did get lifts to and from each doorway but even so I had to deal with the travel.

Besides this slight setback the others aspects of my illness are improving steadily. I still can't puff out my cheeks and hold but I have the majority of my facial movements back. In fact most of the weaker muscles centre around the mouth. I can pull my lips to the left but when I try to pull them to the right they go left again! The other area of concern is the right eye where those creases form when I squint. Time will heal? I hope so.

Fell asleep late on tonight for about half an hour and when I woke up my eye was quite dry and sore. It just goes to show that the eye muscles aren't fully functional yet.

Didn't get to sleep till the early hours of the morning because of the war on Iraq. Air raid sirens started at 2.30am in Baghdad and the bombing began.

The rest of the day has been similar to the past 2 days. I'm not having any problems with anything but the vertigo. The earache that I experienced recently hasn't reappeared but the vertigo is slow in responding to the improvement. In fact the vertigo is slow in responding to anything!

At about 5pm we all saw one of the most incredible scenes in our lives. The much talked about "Shock and Awe" bombing campaign in Iraq started with devastating effect and Baghdad was pounded by a non-stop barrage of Tomahawk Cruise missiles and other ordinance. Even sitting at home, the scenes were terrifying and you can't imagine how the people at ground level are coping.

Got out of bed this morning and what was the first thing I did? Stubbed my foot, banged my knee, hip, elbow, arm and hands on the desk because our old pal Vertigo thought it would be a hilarious start to the day. Ha-bloody-ha. All I wanted to do was to pop to the loo. Well, after the sudden shooting pain I didn't need to make my way to the bathroom! hehehee. Only kidding.

Unfortunately the earache is starting again so I'm a bit wary about the effect it will have on my balance once more. I'm off to see a senior ENT consultant on Monday for a progress report so I will mention this little episode to see if it is of significance... after all the virus started in the right ear and it resurfaced there recently. I should also ask for the results of the audio test too.

Also, despite the good progress in the facial muscles I must mention that I still have a noticeable pain in the right cheekbone when I press it. If you recall, I mentioned in the early days how it felt like I had been punched in the face. It's still there and is actually causing a few problems when I sleep on it or rest my face on my hand.

I think I'm gradually turning the corner as far as the vertigo is concerned now. And about time too! I feel less disorientated than of late and I'm negotiating daily obstacles like stairs with greater ease. Although this is increasingly apparent, I really shouldn't be complacent because there are still moments when my balance goes AWOL for a split second... and that split second is enough to leave me eating wall.

Today has been spent working heavily on the Merseyside School of Tai Chi site as the launch date is looming and there's still a fair bit of content to add. No worries. We'll hit the deadline.

So today is the day when I see the senior ENT specialist... or so I thought. After phoning the hospital (for over 3 hours) to check the time of the appointment I was told that they forgot to book me in! Excellent. I love wasting my day listening to engaged tones.

Anyway, they offered an appointment for April 25th and I told them where that could go... shortly afterwards it was re-arranged for this Friday. Hehehe.

I would say that at this point my face is around 80% recovered and the vertigo is on the way out but I'm not going to jump behind the wheel of my car just yet. Taxis will have to be my poison until I know I won't have any dizzy spells. It's just not worth it. Speaking of 'not worth it' it has cost a small fortune trying to get around by taxi but hey, without them I would have been completely stuck so I can't complain... much.

The earache has gone today and I've not had any nosebleeds for a while. The cheek is still sore when I lean on it so I have found a good way to stop the pain... don't lean on it. My genius astounds me.

Quite an important day today in terms of the decisions made re the refurbishment project at work. Put it this way... the short plank was brought out! Say no more.

Otherwise it was rather uneventful besides me losing my balance and running uncontrollably down the stairs and straight into the front door! And oh how we laughed. Hmmmm.

Strangely enough though, today seems to be one of the better days as far as the vertigo is concerned. I did take a taxi ride and watching the world go by didn't make me feel dizzy. Perhaps I'll be behind that wheel sooner than I thought but only when I'm absolutely sure I won't cause an accident.

No other incidents to report so we'll leave it there.