Baylor wins Nationals 40-0 and Bell's palsy

     March Madness got my attention last year when A&M beat Notre Dame...I was hooked.  But nothing like watching Brittany Griner, (More on Brittany Griner) and this years Baylor Bear's Women's  Basketball team.  To use an over used phrase...they were awesome!  And 40-0 - SPECTACULAR!!!!  This is like Secretariat's record.  You know the racehorse that won the Triple Crown?  No one has ever been able to beat his record, so it is with Baylor.  Never again will another team take it to 40-0, well, it's gonna be a long, long time.  There have been plenty of 39-0 records but none reached the record of 40 wins and no losses.

I was so nervous watching the game.  But having watched Odyssey Sims lead her team in other games calmed me.  I knew this little sophomore, who showed the maturity, composure, and knowledge of her fellow players early on would not fail her team.  After all she had brought their team to the 39-0 record.  She took it to the end fouling out at the very last...but long enough to put her team almost 20+ points ahead.  And then there was Brittany Griner, taking her cues, delivering, executing, and dominating!!!

Notre Dame was a power house but not compared to Baylor.  Baylor had poise, didn't lose their kool, kept it together all the way down the line.

And there was one more BIG factor, their coach Kim Mulkey.  Coach Muley was struck with Bell's Palsy a few days before the Final Four.  Believe me it can be painful and stress can be one of the culprit.  There was no doubt she had plenty of stress.  But she had started preparing them down  the winning trail from the time Griner was a freshman.  The only thing that Bell's Palsy stopped Coach Mulkey from doing was smiling.

Very little is known about Bell's Palsy.  It's named after its discoverer, Sir Charles Bell, a Scottish surgeon.
For more info on Dr. Bell and Bell's Palsy...

I felt for her because I have and continue to have occasional ticks that remind me of the time when I had Bell's Palsy.

Back in 1986, when I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy.  I had just given birth to my third baby, Samantha.  It was so severe they thought I was having a stroke.  It mimics a stroke because you lose all feeling on the affected side.  While it begins in the facial area, mine affected me all the way down to my left leg.  I was told there were several factors that could have caused my Bell's Palsy.

*  Pregnancy sometimes can be a factor (I was)
*  Ear infection - (I did have a slight ear infection, unbeknownst to me)
*  Going from hot to extreme cold.  (The delivery room was freezing!!)
*  Stress (Samantha was 15 days late and Ralph's ex-wife was taking him to court for the umpteenth time on the day she was born.)

I have two other old wives tales.  You might have heard of them.

*  Never sleep under a fan with wet hair
*  Especially in this Texas heat, do not go from being overheated into an air-conditioned car/room.

It took me over a year to recover and even then, I still have a 5% residue left.  I was on steroids for a year (hence my problem with weight).  But somehow (I know God intervened) he directed me to an acupuncturist. I mean really, where would I find an acupuncturist in the middle of East Texas?  Well, there just happened to be one moving into the Longview/Tyler area straight from China.  I accredit my recovery to that acupuncture/doctor and God.  I was unable to finish my treatment before we were transferred to San Antonio so that's why I still have that 5%.  But I do have to be careful.  I can detect a weather change, cold front, and rain ever since my Bell's Palsy with an uncanny accuracy.  But my main struggle is stress.  My eye will begin twitching.  It's my sign that its time to walk away and chill.

Stop smiling?   Nooooo, not me!

March Madness was a great.  Time to relax and enjoy...bragging rights for TEXAS!!!!  Great Basketball!!