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Heartbreak as 'happy' toddler left unable to smile due to rare condition
The Chronicle
|September 10, 2025
THIS “happy” little boy will never be able to smile due to an extremely rare condition that only affects around 200 people in the UK. Two-year-old William Dennis was diagnosed with Moebius Syndrome on August 21, a condition his GP mum had never heard of.
The congenital neurological disorder causes facial paralysis and limits eye movement. It means William is unable to move his forehead or upper lip and his eyes are “heavily crossed”.
William's dad, Andrew Dennis, said: “Because his eyes are so heavily crossed, when he goes to nursery even the other toddlers in nursery say ‘what's wrong with his eyes?!
We've had people in the supermarket walk across a whole length of the supermarket to ask what's wrong with him. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.
“Because he looks different I worry about the future because he’s going to face difficulties, like building relationships. He's going to have bullying and name calling.
This story is from the September 10, 2025 edition of The Chronicle.
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