Plan B

9:00am

Taylor met with the Otolaryngologist (the facial paralysis Dr.) at Shands Hospital in Gainesville on Tuesday.

He kinda officially concluded what everyone pretty much knew - that the nerve which controls the left side of Taylor's face is not regenerating.

He had previously talked to Taylor about several different procedures, and Taylor decided to go for the chewing muscle transplant.

The Dr. also talked about a procedure called a "sling" where "bands" are implanted and the areas of the face that have no movement and are tightened to give a more natural appearance in the "static" or at rest position. This procedure will not provide movement like the transplant will.

The sling procedure has a shorter recovery time and the results are almost immediate, where the transplant procedure is something that therapists will have to work with Taylor on to get the best results.

So, Taylor has decided to go for the sling procedure now, and do the transplant at a later time - either late this year or next year. A date hasn't been set for the Sling, but it will happen some time in May.

The Dr. said that Taylor has essentially lost all hearing in his left ear. He examined it and found clear fluid behind the drum that he thinks is spinal fluid leaking from the skull fracture. He said while it sounds scary, it is treatable and we shouldn't worry. Easy for him to say. Taylor will return to Gainesville soon to see a Neurotologist to verify that the fluid is spinal fluid and how to go about fixing the problem.

One reason we were told we shouldn't worry about the fluid is that Taylor is the "Poster Child" for recovering brain injury patients. He is one more medical professional who puts Taylor at the top of the "Patients with the most amazing recovery" list.

On the educational front, Taylor is maintaing a 3.75 GPA.....not bad for a recovering brain injury patient!