TRUE LIFE "I HAVE BELLS PALSY"

Open your eyes and keep them open without blinking them.  Feel the tears and the strain?  Well that is what I'm going through at this present moment.  This week, I woke up and instantly felt different.  I pulled out a mirror and noticed that my eyes looked odd.  One eye looked normal, while the other eye looked extremely alert.  I brushed my teeth and realized I couldn't spit.  The entire left side of my face was completely numb.  I got dressed and went into the ER where I was then taken to the Labor/Delivery area since I'm over 20 weeks into my pregnancy.  I was seen by the Neuro team who had to rule out "stroke" as a possibility of my condition.  After some test, they diagnosed me with Bells Palsy.  Bells Palsy is a condition that affects the neurological system.  Your face becomes completely numb, which doesn't allow you to do normal facial functions like blink or close your eyes properly, raise your eye brows, and have a lack of movement in your lips, which in my case has caused me to slur when I speak.  This condition last between 1-2 months and medication is used to help speed up the recovery.  There are also facial exercises I do at home to help in the recovery process.  This whole ordeal has been stressful for me, because I was in the process of taking professional pics and my baby shower is less than a month away.  Not being able to smile has been the hardest part of it all.  My face isn't as droopy has other cases, but I still have the effects of Bells Palsy.  You don't have to be pregnant to get Bells Palsy, though my nurse told me that those that are pregnant are more prone to getting it.  There are no concrete reasons as to why a person is diagnosed with this condition, but at least there is a cure.