I am challenging myself to get out explore and hike in SoCal. I've spent the last 14 years dealing with a knee that refused to do its job. Last year I went through TKR, Total Knee Replacement. This is going to be my #summertoremember

I spent the last two weekends hiking in Lake Elsinore and Antelope Valley walking amongst the poppies and thousands of other people. While many stayed on trails and followed the path, others climbed down steep slopes and hillsides…i.e natural disasters.

Understanding the word “patience”…learning to hate it. It is very hard to have patience when you are provided no END date. How long will it take me to recover? What medication should I take? Are there alternatives? Should I try acupuncture? Botox? Surgery? These are the questions that keep every Bell’s Palsy or Ramsay Hunt sufferer awake at night.

Ever feel like you’re on a path and you have NO IDEA where it leads?? Strengthening a 140 day-old knee while hitting 100 days with RHS and I’m finding that my path is unknown. There is no “end” date. Each day, I have to try and dig deep for energy. Yet I’m not sleeping. It’s the unknown that keeps me up at night.

“Pray for what you want, but work for the things you need.” A fortune cookie saying I found taped to my grandmother’s cabinet.

Fifteen days ago I woke with extreme ear pain. I can’t remember when the facial paralysis began. I just remember trying to talk and my face wasn’t acting right. On Wednesday, November 14th, I was diagnosed; It is called Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. This is my story.