The surgery" the doctor said, "could result in permanent right-sided facial paralysis." "Which means?" I asked. "You could lose feeling on that side of your face. You might not be able to blink your eye. You might not be able to smile." He was not being impassive about this. I had thought that when doctors delivered bad news, they used a med-school cultivated matter-of-fact delivery. My doctor's voice broke.
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