A woman who thought she had woken up with a bad headache hoped that it would go away naturally, but she only grew more concerned when the symptoms intensified—and then the paralysis set in.
When Amber Nolan, 35, woke up for work on Monday morning, she could barely get out of bed due to the horrible eye pain she was experiencing. There was so much pressure behind her right eye, and she couldn’t bear the thought of working through the pain.
Nolan, of Michigan, was forced to take time off work for a few days, hoping the pain would ease. She told Newsweek that she had “no idea what it was” because the pain seemed to be moving from her eyes to her ears.
Nolan wondered if the illness was progressing from a headache into an earache, but, by that Wednesday, she realized that it was much worse than she anticipated.
@amber_nols / TikTok
“It started off with eye pain behind my right eye on Monday, and then it moved to behind my right ear on the Tuesday,” Nolan said. “It felt like intense eye socket pain and then became an earache, so I thought it was a cluster headache at first.
“But, by Wednesday, I noticed that one of my eyes was no longer blinking,” she said.
This was no ordinary headache after all, leaving Nolan frightened of what could be wrong.
By the time she woke up on Thursday morning, four days after the headache began, the side of her face had become paralyzed. She rushed to the ER straight away to get answers.
“The symptoms became worse, and my eye stays completely open still, while the right side of my mouth doesn’t work. And I still have lingering ear pain,” Nolan said.
When doctors looked at Nolan’s symptoms, they told her that she had Bell’s palsy, which causes temporary weakness or paralysis of facial muscles.
The main cause of Belly’s palsy is inflammation or compression of the seventh cranial nerve, but The Cleveland Clinic says that it can also be caused by viral infections, stress, illness, and sleep deprivation.
The early-warning sign of Bell’s palsy can be a fever and pain behind the ear, but there is nothing that can be done to stop the onset of paralysis. The condition can cause a person’s face to look like it is drooping, with paralysis affecting their forehead, eyebrow, eye, and corner of the mouth.
Nolan said she was prescribed several medications, including steroids and antiviral medicine. There is no way of knowing how much longer her face will be paralyzed, but it could take anywhere between a week and several months.
“I was worried because I have heard stories of people making a complete recovery and others making none at all. Also, I was told it could have been a stroke, but the doctors didn’t think so,” Nolan said.
“I feel extra-tired, so I can tell my body is really trying to heal. I missed a week of work just trying to rest and to let my body take over the healing process,” she added.
While her face is still partially paralyzed, Nolan is doing everything she can to help clear it up. In addition to the prescribed medication, she is also incorporating a holistic approach to help the healing process. She made an acupuncture appointment, which “seemed to really help,” especially with the pain she has been experiencing.
Nolan has been documenting her experience on TikTok (@amber_nols) throughout. Her videos show the development of her Bell’s palsy, how she is coping with it, and what she is learning from it.
The first video Nolan posted about the paralysis has gone viral with more than 1.5 million views and over 18,700 likes on TikTok in a matter of days. Social-media users have been captivated by her journey, with many following along to see how it progresses.
Nolan didn’t intend to go viral, but she said she hopes that her videos will spread awareness and help others identify any potential symptoms before the onset of Bell’s palsy.
With over 2,100 comments on Nolan’s viral video at the time of writing, many TikTok users have shared their own experiences with the condition.
One comment reads: “that’s how I felt with Bell’s palsy … I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy that ear pain is so bad.”
Another person wrote: “Omg [oh my God] I would freak out.”
A third TikTok user added: “Speedy recovery! Get some rest! My thoughts are with you!”
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