oliver sacks, one of the world's most brilliant, not to mention endearing, neuroscientists writes on phantom limb syndrome, in which "phantom" pangs are felt in a limb/ appendage that is no longer there. (no, i am not making this up....i don't think) for example, veterans feel shooting pains through missing (or prosthetic) legs, and trans-women have been known to "experience" phantom erections after their member has been removed. for all the biology nerds out there, here's the brief and sadly oversimplified explanation (that is, after all, the only explanation i really do understand): the brain is a resourceful thing! it's got two strips fondly referred to as the sensory and motor "homunculi" (this, thank you latin, literally means "little men"). each section of a homunculus (nominative-singular-second declension..WHEW!) corresponds to a region of our bodies. the sensory homunculus channels the sensations felt by every body part; the area on the homunculus devoted to each body part varies based on that body part's level of sensation (ie: a penis is going to occupy a MUCH larger portion of the sensory homunculus than would, say, a forearm--no joke). basically, if a body part goes AWOL, the region of the sensory homunculus devoted to that part will persist (ouch!) until adjacent regions take it over. craziness, no?
all this to say that i have phantom tonsils. more precisely, i have a phantom right tonsil. and it, as well as my right ear (which is, in fact, intimately connected to what was once a REAL right tonsil by a nasty lil' nerve), are smarting horrifically.
garrison-foster health center, here i come! how else can i maintain my status being your "most frequent flyer?"
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