If you follow me on my Instagram http://www.instagram.com/lei86_mua you will already be familiar with the issues I have faced over this last year regarding my health, if you follow me on my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtDYKkTFY8X21Tm4yTVj1Qg you will also have seen 1st hand just how difficult & debilitating it has become.
A few weeks ago I posted this picture on my Instagram & within a few days, these pictures were taken only a week apart. Things went from bad to worse & I ended up at an emergency Dr’s appointment at an ‘out of hours’ clinic.
I completely underestimated just how bad my hemifacial spasms had got & that week my face had begun to spasm out of control but instead of it affecting only my mouth & jaw, it was scarily affecting the muscles around my eye which was causing me excruciating pain, double vision & my eyelid would not stay open. As soon as the Dr at the clinic saw me he picked up the phone & rang the hospital to alert them that I needed to be seen & that he felt I needed more tests & stronger medication. For me that meant at least an overnight stay. Unfortunately once I arrived at the hospital it became very clear that this was not going to be just an overnight stay so that my current medication could be adjusted. I was trearged, had blood taken, had a CT scan to see if there had been any changes since I had it done last year when all of the spasms started & then I had to stay in for monitoring & they insisted on me seeing a neurologist before leaving.
4 days later & thankfully after having around 4 lots of oramorph each day, adding another anti epileptic medication & another pain medication to what I was already taking & topping all of that up with paracetamol, I finally improved enough that I was able to go home as long as the Neurologist said I could.
My CT scan came back clear, no change from last year which was a huge relief. Although I am still no closer a year on to finding out the cause of my Hemifacial Spasms. Thankfully the neurologist & the Dr’s I saw whilst in hospital have agreed that it may be time to investigate my issues on a wider spectrum to see if the spasms are caused or linked to any underlying medical conditions that they haven’t considered yet. Hopefully this will narrow things down. In the meantime I have been referred to a specialist botox clinic to have injections in my face which hopefully will help keep my spasms under control, as despite the medication I am still feeling them & my pain is not fully under control. I have also had the all clear from the optician this week that my eyesight & health of my eye is ok & has not been affected by this recent episode, for which I am very relieved.
Despite my health starting to improve since leaving hospital last Tuesday I am still not well enough to do all of the things that I have enjoyed doing in the past. I am finding even simple day to day tasks like doing dishes or cooking a family meal to be a challenge. Due to the new medication I also get very sleepy & often doze off when I least expect it. This means that I have had to make the very difficult decision to end my career of 10yrs as a professional makeup artist. The dream of me becoming a well known published makeup artist, working on music videos, making it to London Fashion week & working with Celebrities is over!
This saddens me so much as this has been my dream for as long as I can remember & now it’s gone, all because my body has failed me at the young age of 32. Due to me not knowing if I will be well one day or not the next I can’t commit to all of the bookings & diary appointments that come with being a makeup artist anymore & the last thing I want to do is end up cancelling on clients & letting them down so for me this feels like the most sensible decision. I also need to look after myself more & face my current health issues head on, no matter how bad it gets.
I refuse to give up on having a career though & anything that can keep makeup a part of my life makes me want to push forward & not let my illness hold me back. I have so many exciting opportunities that I have to look forward to & I can’t wait to share them with you all very soon.
Thank you all for your continued support xxx
Beauty, FND & Me 