Facial palsy left me unable to close my eyes & needing a ‘smile transplant’…trolls can back off I’m a Celeb star Tulisa

WHEN vile trolls slammed Tulisa Contostavlos' changing face, aft she entered the I'm A Celebrity camp, her friends rallied circular to support her - and opened up astir the wellness battles she has faced implicit the past 12 years.

And 1 pistillate who knows precisely what she had been done is Bethan Robertson-Smith - who has been incapable to enactment oregon person a spouse for 16 years aft processing facial palsy, the information that has affected the N-Dubz star.

Now she has praised Tulisa's bravery successful openly talking astir her information arsenic ‘game-changing’ for the different ‘silent army’ of sufferers.

The 36-year-old vocalist  was diagnosed with Bell's palsy - a neurological upset that causes paralysis oregon weakness connected 1 broadside of the look - successful 2020 and revealed she had fillers to adjacent retired her face.

Bethan developed facial palsy aft a unspeakable car mishap successful 2008, erstwhile she was conscionable 22. The devastating effects near her with bilateral facial paralysis, incapable to blink, adjacent her eyes for slumber oregon smile.

Bethan, 39, from Bristol, said: “Nobody other tin recognize however having facial palsy tin knock your assurance to rock-bottom, often without immoderate airy astatine the extremity of the passageway – arsenic a young, beauteous woman, to abruptly spot your look gone, perchance forever, it feels similar your life’s over.”

“For Tulisa to spell connected I’m A Celebrity and speech astir her facial palsy, with millions of radical seeing her with zero make-up on, it’s simply astonishing – she deserves a medal, and I anticipation the consciousness she raises has a monolithic interaction for different radical similar america who are inactive surviving done this nightmare.”

Tulisa’s adjacent person Rylan Clark was speedy to rebut immoderate antagonistic remarks pointed astatine her, saying connected Twitter/X: ‘Also earlier radical commencement going for appearance, Tulisa has been done a batch wellness omniscient the past fewer years truthful let’s not marque s**t jokes astir her connected twitter yea x. (sic)'.

Like Tulisa, Bethan has had facial tattoos to assistance amended her quality arsenic her information makes it hard to usage accepted constitution – thing which has besides provoked absorption from viewers of the show.

Eleven years ago, Bethan had imperishable eyebrows and eyeliner tattooed connected her eyelids.

“When you’ve got facial palsy, you privation to bash virtually thing you tin to look mean again,” Bethan said.

However, successful a cruel twist, a advisor ophthalmologist astatine Bristol Eye Hospital precocious told Bethan her eyelid tattoos could really beryllium making the effects of her facial palsy worse.

“I had the tattoos done 11 years agone and my imperishable eyebrows had a monolithic effect arsenic they helped springiness maine a spot much facial look than I had before.

“But due to the fact that my eyes don’t adjacent connected their ain – my near oculus successful peculiar – I endure from terribly adust eyes, which are incredibly itchy and tin pb to infections. On apical of looking similar I do, the symptom tin beryllium torturous.

“The advisor told maine the precocious eyelid tattoos utilized successful spot of eyeliner tin artifact the glands which nutrient tears, truthful could’ve contributed to my ongoing adust eyes – if I’d known, I’d ne'er person had them done.

“It’s conscionable taking truthful agelong for consciousness of each these issues astir facial palsy to travel to airy – it took maine years to find retired determination was a specializer centre successful the UK, during which clip I could’ve had attraction to assistance me, but now, similar my eyelids, I can’t crook the timepiece back.”

Traumatic Injuries

Until the accident, Bethan had everything to look forward  to. She was pretty, fashionable and bright. She had near schoolhouse astatine conscionable 17, gone travelling successful Australia and returned to fulfil her imagination of grooming to go a veterinary nurse.

During the 2nd word of her assemblage course, she decided to thrust location for a play but skidded crossed a bedewed road, consecutive into the way of oncoming car.

Bethan has mercifully fewer memories of the car clang that astir killed her. But 1 happening she tin ne'er hide is the infinitesimal she realised, aft waking from a two-week coma, that she could not determination immoderate portion of her face.

She was suffering from bilateral facial paralysis, meaning successful that azygous infinitesimal of impact, each 1 of the 40 muscles successful Bethan’s look had been paralysed. Her rima was permanently unfastened and dry, 1 eyelid was perpetually closed portion the different was stuck open.

"I was having to larn to talk, locomotion and devour again truthful this was conscionable different happening connected apical of it all,’ she says.

"I was successful my infirmary room, peering into a tiny reflector trying to smile, and this blank look looked back. I couldn’t bash anything."

The 2008 mishap near Bethan with a skull fractured successful 4 places, a bleed connected the encephalon and traumatic injuries to the basal of her skull that meant she had to beryllium induced into a coma for 13 days. Although she recovered, the paralysis was to go the astir enduring bequest of the crash.

A staggering 100,000 Britons endure from facial paralysis, usually affecting conscionable 1 side. It condemns them to a satellite without the galore expressions we pass done our face.

'Smile transplant'

Bethan has had much than 30 operations to effort and amended her concern but says her beingness volition ne'er beryllium the aforesaid again.

Although she had platinum chains implanted into her eyelids to assistance her blink, she inactive struggles with adust eyes and oculus ointments and drops are portion of her regular routine.

It is lone present that Bethan tin amusement her happiness erstwhile again acknowledgment to an bonzer ten-hour ‘smile transplant’ cognition - different known arsenic facial reanimation country - wherever muscles from different portion of the assemblage are transferred to the face.

Bethan said: “I conscionable consciousness similar I’ve made astir nary betterment since that mishap – I haven’t been capable to spell backmost to my studies, I can’t work, I haven’t had a spouse with nary motion of that connected the horizon. If my facial palsy had been decently treated sooner, things could’ve been truthful different.

“For Tulisa to unfastened up to millions of radical astir her ordeal, it’s astonishing – determination are virtually thousands of sufferers similar america retired determination who aren’t getting the due proposal and enactment they should be, hiding down closed doors for fearfulness of going retired into the world.”

“Social media is simply a implicit no-go for maine and truthful galore others successful our assemblage due to the fact that radical are truthful speedy to justice and beryllium truthful cruel without immoderate existent understanding.

“Tulisa is giving america a voice, helping america propulsion for earlier diagnosis, amended attraction and taking distant the shame.”

Karen Johnson, CEO of Facial Palsy UK says: “Anyone considering eyeliner tattoo should beryllium made alert of the semipermanent risks of processing adust oculus illness pursuing this benignant of procedure.

"Dry oculus is incredibly achy and besides affects your vision, truthful if you already person complications similar Facial palsy, past it’s truly important that patients are made alert that cosmetic tattoos could marque things worse.”

Website: www.facialpalsy.org.uk/