Bell’s Palsy
In the summer of 2003, I woke up one morning, went to the bathroom and felt a tear running down my face. I went to wipe it and I couldn’t close my eye on my left side. I tried and tried, but nothing happened. I started to realize that my left side of my face wasn’t moving at all. Later that day I went to the doctor and he told me that I had, “Bell’s Palsy.” He said that it was a viral infection and that he had no idea what causes it and how to cure it. He said it may go away a year from now or never go away. He put me on Steroids to help with the infection and told me to contact the National Paralysis Center in San Francisco. The lady I talked to told me the same thing the doctor told me. I became very scared, nervous and upset that I would have to live with this for a year or longer. I felt embarrassed and frustrated that there was no cure for this infection. I was referred to Dr. Michals by my wife, who was already under his care. After a consultation, Dr. Michals researched Bell’s Palsy and Chiropractic care and found several cases of successful treatments. I started seeing Dr. Michals about three times a week. After the second or third adjustment, I started to feel a tingling sensation in my face. It felt like when your arm falls asleep. With every adjustment, I saw slight improvement in my face. I stopped taking the steroids that were prescribed. I could move my eyelid, my mouth and got my self-esteem back. After about six weeks, I was fully recovered and forever grateful towards Dr. Michals. I became a true believer of chiropractic care and wished I had started earlier in my life. I believe if it wasn’t for Dr. Michals, I would have endured a very lengthy recovery process and probably would of not been fully healed. I hope my experience will help others to try chiropractic care. I am forever grateful towards Dr. Michals for his help and friendship.
-Justin Erwin
