Sudden Weakness of the Face – Jim’s Bell’s Palsy Story
Developing Bell’s Palsy – follow Jim’s story one morning when things didn’t appear as they usually would!
Weakness on the right side of the face from Bells Palsy. Note the droop in the R eye and corner of the mouth on the right side.
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Part 1 – “How It Started”
Jim woke up that morning feeling strange. He touched his right cheek and ear where he felt a little pain.
As he walked to the toilet, he kept rubbing at it thinking he’d bumped it the previous day.
He relieved himself and moved to the sink to start brushing his teeth, thinking of the busy day ahead.
And, then looked at himself again in the glass. His face seemed a bit ‘lopsided’, drooping, even!
He tried a smile but instead of the usual even grin he took for granted, a crooked half grimace greeted him back.
And his eye – what the…?
His right eye seemed to be drooping and as he blinked at himself in the mirror it seemed the eye belonged to someone else and was not behaving like its mate.
Panic set in! Was this a stroke?
Had he hit his head worse than he thought playing football last week?
Part 2 – “It seemed to Get Worse”
As Jim tried to brush his teeth, things seemed to get worse.
Opening his mouth properly was difficult and as he filled his mouth with water to rinse, it dribbled out from the left side.
‘No, this was serious – I need to have this checked out ASAP’; he thought to himself.
His right eye was watering a lot and it felt difficult to keep a steady gaze and drive.
Luckily, he’d used a small local clinic about a 10-minute walk from his flat before and the doctors there were quite good.
As he walked down the road he thought he felt a few stares.
But, it wasn’t till the cheeky bike man waiting for a fare called out to him – ‘Haa; Oga –
*wetin – pidgin English for ‘what’
Ignoring the bike man, he proceeded to the clinic which, thankfully, was already open.
Part 3 – “Getting Some Help”
At the reception he was told: ‘The doctor is already seeing patients and it’s about 1 hour to wait’.
‘But the nurse will see you in a few minutes’.
The nurse assured him his blood pressure and other observations were ok.
She asked him to stand and keep both arms up while she watched him for a few seconds.
Then, she looked carefully at his face and made a few notes.
He started to feel even more
Calmly she answered: ‘Please don’t panic. I’ll get the Doctor to see you straight away.’
He sat in the triage room, waiting; heart pounding.
Even though the place looked quiet, and sterile, inside he was a mass of swirling thoughts.
It just then occur
This doctor he’d not met before and he was straight to the point:
Part 4 – “Finally, some answers”
‘Hello. I understand you’ve had trouble with your face this morning’.
He asked a lot of questions looking at his face intently throughout.
Then the examination started – he was asked to open and close his eyes a few times, smile (?), and blow out his cheeks.
Next, the doctor got him to stand, walk, kick and push.
All the while his eye kept watering and his head was pounding – added to his rumbling stomach from hunger and anxiety, he was surprised he could still stand upright.
‘Ok Jim, it looks like you’ve developed what’s called Bell’s palsy – it’s not a life-threatening condition and it’s not a stroke.
‘With the right treatment, we will get you back to normal soon’.
‘Bell’s what’?
The doctor proceeded to explain to Jim what it was and more – and you can use the link here to learn exactly what he was told.
As for Jim, he is resting and recovering – this scare
Key take away – seek medical advice as soon as you develop
So that’s how it worked for Jim. Have you any experience or questions on nerve problems?
Do let us know in the comments.
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Editing by AskAwayHealth Team
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