The Story of My Mysterious Pain

The Story of My Mysterious Pain

I never talked about my pain. For a start, it sometimes hurt too much to talk about anything. On bad days, any movement of my mouth—to speak, to eat, to brush my teeth—could trigger a jolt like an electric shock across the right side of my face. It felt like my cheek and lower jaw had been taken over by the vengeful Norse god Thor, who defended his turf with an endless supply of lightning bolts. But even on good days, there wasn’t much I could s…