Claire’s Story

I was first diagnosed with facial palsy when I was three; up until then, everyone just thought I had a slow-blinking eye. I started to complain that I couldn’t hear out of my right ear so after some tests and investigations, they diagnosed me with facial palsy and complete deafness in my ear on the side.

I had my first operation when I was six. They removed a nerve from my foot/leg and placed it in my face. This left my left foot permanently numb and highly sensitive. When I was 8, they took a muscle from my armpit and placed it in my face. The idea was to ‘give me my first smile’ and although it did create more movement in my face, it is far from symmetrical and my eye, eyebrow and cheek are still affected. I can’t close my right eye properly which causes havoc in windy or sunny weather conditions. Additionally, during my second operation, my lung collapsed due to excessive air pushing down on it which led to an extended stay in hospital.

I have always been open about my facial palsy however that doesn’t mean I’m not insecure about it. I think the hardest part is when strangers stare which is common. Although I know they aren’t necessarily doing it on purpose, it means that my facial palsy is always in the back of my mind. I find it tricky meeting new people for this reason as I know exactly what they are initially thinking when they see me.

I’m now a primary school teacher and love my job. I’m very open about my condition with the children I teach and use it as an opportunity to show that everyone is different and that it’s ok to be so.

I met my husband at university and we have been happily married for 5 years now. We have been blessed with two beautiful babies who I’m very keen to bring up accepting the differences in everyone and having the confidence to express the differences in themselves.