Facing Fears

I couldn’t move the left side of my face but I refused to shy away By Rebecca Elliott, 36, from Colchester

Brushing my hair, I felt my left eye twitch. Ignoring it, I applied my lippy, but I couldn’t purse my lips.

I just put it down to tiredness. Next day, in December last year, I got up and had a cup of tea.

But it dribbled out of my mouth. Looking at myself in a mirror, the left side of my face had dropped.

‘I look wonky!’ I cried to my husband Tony, 34.

I couldn’t move my mouth on the left side. It felt frozen. ‘Let’s go to hospital,’ Tony said.

At Colchester General Hospital, doctors suspected it was a stroke. But I felt fine.