[Jim Rosenthal]

It hasn't gone away- thanks for asking. It's caused by swelling of the seventh cranial nerve in a canal in the skull called the stylomastoid foramen; the treatment is steroids and antiviral drugs, although no one is really sure whether viral infections have much to do with it. No improvement so far, but it can take weeks or months. Or not get better, which I certainly hope isn't the case. It makes it hard to talk (some would cite this as a plus in my case) and sometimes it hurts like crazy, although not all the time. Meanwhile, I am getting real good at putting in eye drops.