Bell's Palsy: My Personal Account

As a rare, but growing, viral based condition, Bell's Palsy creates a significant hardship on the sufferer. Five years ago, my best friend experienced a sudden onset of facial paralysis and was diagnosed with this condition I had never heard of. Still, when she told me she suffered from Bell's Palsy, I did my research and tried to become educated in the what, where, when, how and why's of this condition.

While my best friend experienced the complications associated with Bell's Palsy, I continued to go about my days and my life as if nothing had changed. I continued to try and engage her in activities we once enjoyed, i.e. eating out, and found I was increasingly frustrated by her inability to just "deal with it" and move on with her life. While I was empathetic and sympathetic to her plight, I did grow increasingly frustrated as days and weeks passed and, still, no improvement in her attitude toward her Bell's Palsy condition.

Now, five years later, I am suffering with this same condition. As a condition that affects the 7th cranial nerve, leading to impaired and paralysis of the facial muscles, I can not relate, with 100 percent certainty, to the plight of my best friend five years ago. While Bells Palsy creates a psychological impact and can reduce self esteem, due to the impaired facial appearance, for me, the greater impact is in the decreased mobility, especially in terms of my vision. Where I once criticized my best friend for being vain, and overly concerned with her appearance, often finding I was encouraging her that her beauty was on the inside and she shouldn't focus on her physical appearance so much, I know find that may not have been her plight at all. As a single mother, she was most likely suffering from the frustration of finding no relief from the constant nuisance Bell's Palsy poses upon our lives. As her best friend, I now realize, I could not relate until I had experienced the condition myself.