#Bellspalsy, also known as idiopathic facial paralysis, affects about 40,000 people in the U.S. each year. Writer Elena Sheppard was diagnosed with the condition in her last week of pregnancy after a "sudden collapse of the right side of my face," which she thought was a stroke. ⁠ ⁠ Sheppard struggled with eating and drinking in the beginning: “Drinking water — it dribbles out of your mouth. While eating, I bite my tongue and cheeks a lot. It’s just like everything is in the wrong spot.” The biggest challenge she faces is dealing with her right eye, which doesn’t close all the way. Simple things like taking a shower and washing her face are tricky and uncomfortable, “Or when it’s windy out, your eyes squint to protect yourself but your eye doesn’t."⁠ ⁠ Sheppard, who describes herself as “generally a very smiley person,” wrestles with the fact that she couldn’t smile in any photos with her newborns. She says, “I think if I didn’t have two humans to keep alive right now, I’d be totally f...