why I started on the wonk.

Nothing in my life has ever hit me more than when I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy last August. No one tells you how difficult it’s going to be to do anything, to eat, drink and talk, the unbearable pain, not to mention the emotional trauma you go through when losing all your facial movement as well as your identity. It was simply take these steroids, patch the eye up until it closes and on you go. THAT WAS IT.

It wasn’t until I did my own research 4 months later when I found out I was misdiagnosed and actually had Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (a more severe, rare and painful version of Bell’s Palsy) that I started to learn more about what I was going through, find out what treatment would help my symptoms as well as being able to read other peoples stories.

Now almost a whole year on, I feel like it’s time to really share my journey beyond the occasional Instagram post. With this blog I want to discuss every aspect of living with facial palsy as openly and honestly as I can.

Don’t get me wrong I am in no way ‘healed’ or recovered - especially after just one year - or trying to be a person that can promise that to other people, but I am working on learning to accept what happened, and adapt to this new life, learning to love my face again, no matter how wonky it looks to me! I want to share that journey with other people going through the same thing so that they don’t feel so alone with their experiences, and have the information I wish I had when I was first diagnosed.

I would love to encourage others to find healing and regain their confidence along with me, take a gorgeous photo and love who’s staring back at you, go out into the world without wondering what others are thinking, and start to see yourself again as more than just what happened to you, not allowing it to run your life.

However this won't be for just those affected, but people who simply want to learn more. I've been told by so many friends that they don't understand how restricting it feels to not be able to move you face fully, so maybe this can help the parent, friend or partner of someone who is going through facial paralysis to learn more about how to help and support them through such a tough time in their lives.

I also want to have some fun with this. I've spent the last year being so depressed about what happened and reliving my trauma almost everyday, that it’s about time I flipped something so painful into something positive. So I’m going to give this my best shot, and hopefully it’ll help at least one person out there to feel less alone when learning to live with facial paralysis.