Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve written a blog. Ive been a bit busy. I developed Bell’s Palsy on April 1 (yeah, great April Fool’s Day prank). And to make it even more funny, I’m a speech pathologist. So, I’m a speech pathologist whose mouth isn’t working at the moment!
If you don’t know what Bell’s Palsy is—it is facial paralysis. It usually occurs only on one side but it can affect both. Thankfully, in my case it only affected one side. According to my doctors and websites I’ve visited, it is usually caused by a virus attacking the 7th cranial nerve but it’s not always caused by a virus. Anyway, recovery can happen quickly or slowly, even up to six months.
So, one of my doctors insisted I have an MRI—just to be sure. I thought it was unnecessary but I did it. And turns out they found something else—of course! They found schwannomas—which are a type of tumor—on both sides of my brain.
Here’s the interesting thing, my neurosurgeon isn’t sure that the schwannomas are the cause of the Bell’s Palsy. According to him, it might be or it might not be. They are very, very tiny and the larger one is on the side not having Bell’s Palsy. On the other hand, it seems too coincidental that I have Bell’s Palsy and the schwannomas. At least he thinks so.
Me—I don’t think it’s coincidental at all. God has His ways of getting things done. Catching the tumors in their early stages is a blessing and that means the Bell’s Palsy is a blessing!
So, what experience have you had that seemed awful at the time but turned out to be a blessing?
Tiaras & Tennis Shoes 
Lillian, Bell’s Palsey is a very common early symptom of Lyme disease. I know at least three people who have had this happen because they were bitten by a tick. My goddaughter was bitten at a concert in Central Park in NYC and the Bell’s Palsey was a HUGE blessing because in the NE this is generally recognized, or at least her doctor was well aware of it and gave her antibiotics immediately– and if you catch Lyme in the first few weeks and take at least doxcycline you can be spared years of terrible misery. It would be well worth it to look for an LLMD (Lyme Literate doctor) in your area and get tested. The tests are accurate less than 50% of the time though so it would be worth it to take the antibiotics as a preventative anyway.
Natasha Kern
Wow. I’ve never heard that before. I will definitely look into it. Thanks.
Hi Lillian,
My daughter ended up pregnant after only being married a month. Surprise! Some medicine she was on negated her birth control. No one was ready for this, but during the pregnancy her blood pressure kept bottoming out. We found, after tests, that she had a birth defect to her heart, one she had corrected thru surgery a year after little Ava was born. So a surprise pregnancy turned out to be a blessing for my daughter in more ways than one!
That’s an amazing story. God has his ways.
Wow, Lillian!! Praise God for your Bells! I’ll be praying for you and for the surgeons as you continue this journey.
Thanks! All prayers are welcomed!!