Sounds overall like kind of an enlightening experience. When this stuff goes too far though, it's the kind of enlightement you would have liked to avoid . . .

I'm in my fourteenth year of an undiagnosable progressive disease. Kept working as long as humanly possible - through May of 2003. At that time, to casual observation, my disability still couldn't be perceived.

Now that I'm frail and skinny, with severe multiple mobility problems, the average person meeting me, honestly, appears to no longer view me as a person. You see it in their eyes - a mixture of curiosity and mild revulsion, like you're a member of a different species.

With a 47 year prior history of being regarded as fully human, it's a hard thing to get used to.

The person who posted earlier regarding a possible dental connection in BP might be on to something. I have experienced two bouts of BP, both on the left side of my face, after suffering for months, first from an infected upper left molar, and then from the results of a botched dental procedure meant to eliminate the problem. Even though it eventually cleared up both times, to this day I get twitches in my left eyelid rather frequently, and experience "dry eye" on that side as well.

Here's hoping yours clears up better than mine did.

Amy- I am so happy you are all right!
You are an amazing woman and truely one of my heroes!

Amy,

I agree with DODGER DAVE! I am addicted to your DemocracyNow! broadcasts, and admire and respect you so much I will watch or read anything with your name on it!

Keep the faith, I know you will recover-you are so loved!

And, thank you for all you do! You are like a cherished friend to me, as I live in NW Fl.,where I seem to be in an EXTREME minority re: my political/social/world views! It's where the "right-to-life"ers bomb the abortion clinics to kill the people inside!

Amy,

It takes great courage to discuss something so personal. But then again it's no surprise that you would have the courage to discuss Bell's Palsy; you are one of the most courageous and inspirational people that I've ever had the privilege of meeting (or learning from). You are the greatest....on a side note...enigma: very witty. cheers.

I heartily agree with all of the of the good wishes and expressions of appreciation to Amy for the irreplaceable service she provides us. However, all of this begs a very important question: How did Amy inflame her cranial nerve? Here are my top three theories:

1. The violent effort of trying not to break out laughing when, after Alan Greenspan repeated his admission that we went to war in Iraq for their oil, Naomi Klein asked him if he was aware that it was illegal under international law to go to war over natural resources.

2. She sprained a nerve doing that thing she does at the end of the show where where she recites at breakneck, or in this case, breaknerve, speed the equivalent of a page and a half of the NYC telephone directory in under 15 seconds.

3. She bruised the nerve when, after vacationless years of 20 hour days of hosting DN, preparing for DN, giving talks around the country and the world, and writing books and articles, she raised her Democracy Now coffee mug to her mouth - and missed.

Amy - You are a hero of mine (and so many others as you can see from the comments). This is just one more beautiful thing you have done for us, for our society, and for our future (which gives us all hope!).
Thank you Amy and keep up ALL your good work!
Peace~

PS. KEEP IT REAL (or should I say keep on keeping it real?) :oD

Dear Amy,

Can you feel the love being sent your way?

Like the Velveteen Rabbit, you are wearing away for all the good reasons. That we may all be so blessed!

Bell's Palsy responds rapidly to homeopathic treatment which uses remedies prepared from natural substances that are 'similar to the illness'. One remedy callled Causticum contains what I call the Amy Goodman/Ralph Nader archetype because some of the signs which direct one to it's usage are: Idealistic fight for a "better world", fighting for a cause. Helps actually the oppressed, the poor, and not only talks about it.
This remedy, among many others,when properly choosen and administered for a particular individual and the specifics of their own disorder works to help the body's own healing powers in a non-invasive manner. All the best to you.

Anyone who gets up in front of cameras and tells the truth to the masses about what's going on in the world (while also revealing their desire for justice and peace in the world) will be the most beautiful people of all. Real beauty is not superficial.

Amy Goodman, Dennis Kucinich, Al Gore, Bono, Michael Moore, Hugo Chavez, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn - are some of the most beautiful people on the planet at this time. Light, love and power are working through them and my hat is off to them all.

See Amy here:
http://www.DemocracyNow.org

-------------------------

"He shall proclaim the norm,
lovely in its beginning,
lovely in its middle, and
lovely in the end thereof."
Gautama Buddha
(speaking about the World Teacher)

Thank you Amy for all you do.

Your program has allowed me to escape from the land of the sheeple and live in the real world, scary sometimes, disappointing, tragic, unjust and difficult to navigate... but REAL and forever fascinating. You've enabled me, motivated me, and challenged my intelligence to make a difference and keep hope alive.

I will never be able to thank you enough but I hope you can realize how much of a difference you make in this world.

I'm actually crying like the end of It's a wonderful life.

(the bell on the Christmas ornament rings)
zuzu: Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his (her) wings.

Amy, your wings are waiting, but let them wait for a long time to come. We need you!

I'm having fun fantasizing about Edward G. Robinson dressing down Dick Cheney. "Now see here. Ya' better wise up ya' chump or else you're goin' to end up as fish food in the East River!" Okay, okay, I'm not a great writer of film noir dialogue, but I need a pleasant daydream or two to get me through this long nightmare.

Thanks for your valiant pursuits and hard work Amy.

My brother had it once and it never returned.

Hope the same for you and best of health.

We need you.

Amy, I am an avid reader and watcher of Democracy Now, and rely on your broadcast each and every weekday to provide information not provided by mainstream/corporate media. I noticed the paralyzation and also thought it was a stroke, which gave me very great concern on several levels. But I also noticed that you were speaking clearly and coherently -- so wondered what was the problem. I'm so glad to hear your health affliction is not of a more serious nor permanent nature. You truly are a beautiful human being. I wish you everything wonderful in life -- the nation needs you. Keep on being the beautiful woman you are. We love you for your courage and all you do in the name of "democracy" -- Democracy Now.

I really can't add anything to what these other folks have said - you are beautiful and what you do, regarding the reporting of the real news, is even MORE beautiful.

thanks..

I noticed that several people here reported Bells Palsy came on with sudden gusts of cold wind blowing on the face.

That is just how it happened with me: I was out getting signatures for Howard Dean on the ballot in 2003. I was walking in frigid weather long blocks between houses and it was very icy that November. It was also stressful- meeting strangers at each house- feeling that Howard Dean was very important for the nation etc.

I had a complete recovery as predicted and it did take several months but what I missed the most was that I could not wolf wistle to my birds- now that too is back.

Good health- so valuable and so fragile!

Dear Amy:

I was going to write "Get well soon, Amy!" but then I said to myself, wait a minute! Amy is not sick! She is one of the sanest, brightest, most caring journalists out there. She just has a little obstacle thrown in her path and she will overcome it the way she's overcome the larger obstacles.

May all the emails you receive keep you smiling on the inside.

in the summer of 2000 i had a severe case of bell's palsey due to lyme disease. not having medical insurance and not trusting in the allopathic system, i stayed away despite increasing nerve pain in my back. i have sufferred nerve pain in my neck and back for decades so just thought i needed a chiropractic adjustment. when the pain got so back that sleep was impossible i dragged myself to an emergency room about 1 a.m. one night where i was treated like a drug addict and sent home with the instruction to take aspirin! a few days later a friend of mine insisted that i go again and she accompanied me. i was so glad for the witness as i was told that i had a lot of nerve wasting this doctor's time--he had more important cases to deal with.
it was shortly after this that i awoke and found my face on my chin as i described it. that was a bit frightening and it scared everyone around me. i looked like a stroke victim. people at work wanted me to go home because they were frightened.
not too supportive. it is now 7 yrs since this bout and i need to thank homeopathy for the healing that occurred. i still have minor twitchings of facial muscles with a slight imbalance of my face, but people don't notice this anymore.

i thank you amy for your public presence with this 'imperfection' and ask that you spend more time on exposing the politics of the medical industry. it is quite sinister: you are clearlin in a position to do this.

Amy,
Though we are strangers to you, none of us are really strangers about you. These days many of us count on your 24-hour reappearance, much as my childhood child looked forward to the sanity and courange in the voice of Edward R. Murrow during WWII, so we are very glad and relieved that you are on the mend for all the reasons you and others have given above. We humans all have disabilities, their just not yet apparent. Take care of yourself, Amy!

May Amy always remain healthy since her chosen role is to help with the health of our nation and world. Keep on keepin' on Amy. We cherish your presence in our midst.

Thanks for the detailed explanation to all of your listeners who were concerned about your recent affliction. I too feared a stroke was the answer but it's helpful and interesting to learn about these difficult ailments. Maybe together we can better effect a cure with our personal experiences with it. 'Does sound like a pattern with airline travel. Perhaps related to ear/nose issues, being a common air travel issue? (assuming teeth infections can contribute) I'm starting to like Cheney's visage more now. Anyway, you're doing serious news.

I'm not surprised by the end of the article. It's just like Amy to express care and concern for the have nots of the world.

Best wishes to a good and decent human being.

ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO,I JOINED THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO DEPEND ON THE LOVELY AND TALENTED AMY GOODMAN AS THEIR MAIN NEWS SOURCE.LISTEN,WE DON'T CARE IF YOU DEVELOP "FRANKENSTEIN'S MOMMA PALSY." YOU KEEP WORKING.IF YOU WEIGH 500 POUNDS,AND FOR SOME REASON ONLY HAVE ONE EYE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR DAGGONE FORHEAD-YOU KEEP WORKING.I FOR ONE AM THAT SELFISH.I'M ALSO INSULTED BY THE NOTION THAT TV REPORTERS NEED TO BE RECRUITED FROM THE PLAYBOY MANSION,THAT OUR USA AMERICANS WILL ACCEPT HOT STEAMING CRAP IN A BOWL IF IT IS DELIVERED BY SOMEONE WHO JIGGLES.SERIOUSLY,YOU GET WELL SOON AS YOU CAN,WE'LL ALL BE "SAVED BY THE BELLS" MEANTIME.THANKS.

Amy,
With so many people wishing you well, you are bound to get better, acupuncture or not. I imagine that there are some people who wish otherwise, specially the ones who are troubled by your exposes. The fact that you are getting better is only testament to the fact that their game is up.
Hope you get better soon!
Siddhartha

I'm very short on heroes Amy; thanks for being here.

PS: all we need now is your going face to face with Cheney :-)

I assumed you'd had a stroke so this is good news. I immediately admired your doing your business as usual. Never would be permitted on the networks, or, if it was, it would be accompanied by hundreds of hours devoted to the heroism and this, instead of the news, would be all we'd hear. As far as I knew, you had a stroke and were just doing the news as usual. Awesome dose of reality for us all. Great to hear this will likely clear up, too.

Amy Goodman has more personal and civic courage than all of the chickenhawks combined. She clearly loves this country and is prepared to do what she can to save it from disaster and dishonor. Basil Liddel-Hart wrote that "Unless we are honest about the past and critical of the present, the chances of improving the future are about a hundred to one." There are those who understand this and those who don't. We are very fortunate that Amy does and is prepared to speak truth to power.

I do miss that smile, and will be happy when's it back. She can be reading the most bizarre news about the lack of peace and justice in the world. Watching on FSTV, I hear it, then I look up at the screen and there's this wry little smile and a twinkle in her eye that says 'hey, this is insane, but don't give up hope.'

I can only join the chorus of admiration and respect, Amy. I noticed the symptoms and found out via a Google search what was up.

I had a companion thought to yours, viz. that although network infotainwhores-- excuse me, I mean network correspondents-- like to look intrepid, dashing, fearless, etc., that they would surely decline to appear on the air with Bell's palsy. I correctly guessed that you wouldn't be deterred by personal vanity, and I commend you for it. You got guts.

All the best, and good luck with your continued recovery. (I notice the improvement, BTW.) ♥

When we have a president who will give Amy a Medal of Freedom award, I'll know that I'm back in the country I once thought I was from.

Ms Goodman, What can I say that hasn't already been said? I listen to you on WOJB radio so I would not have even been aware of your health challenge, were it not from my sister who watches you everyday after I turned her on to Democracy Now. She is currently hooked and can't believe she ever thought the MSM news kept her informed until having your program as a frame of reference. Keep on keepin on! You are an inspiration to so many of us.

Amy, you are such a gift to me and to our world. Bless you.

Amy, and others,
A friend had Bell's palsy some years ago. He too had noticed it after stepping off a plane. The doctor told him it was probably triggered by the overhead fan blowing on that side of his face as he slept. So I find it interesting that you and Joe Wilson (and maybe Nader?) noticed it after stepping off the plane.

Seeing you that first day, bravely continuing your broadcast, only enhanced my deep respect for you and your work.

"physical imperfections" says who??? margaret bryant-gainer
www.wvpeace.org

Rock on Amy. I noticed the BP on that first broadcast, as many did, and applauded you for keeping on keeping on.

I was hit with severe Bell's Palsy in 1986 and sought treatment from an acupuncturist after a GP told me that maybe it would get better, maybe never.

I was whistling the next day and after the second treatment, it was gone for good. I'm glad Amy took an alternative route.

Amy, you are our "National Truth Teller." There isn't anything coming out of any "newsrooms" throughout the country that matches "Democracy Now!" When I saw the effect of Bell's palsy on your face and how you have continued to report the news, I was overcome by your bravery (compared to the gaggle of talking heads) Thank you...

Hi Amy,
I had my case of Bell's Palsy back in 1974. I was on a camping trip through the western states with a friend of mine when, as I described it at the time, "the left side of my face fell off." I did not see a doctor for about 24 hours but he diagnosed it correctly, gave me a prescription for some steroids and sent me on my way. Recovery was slow but I got as well as I was going to get over about a 9-month period. Even today, a smile comes out crooked and my left eye blinks more slowly than the other one, but those are the main issues. You are clearly getting more aggressive treatment and you got it more quickly than I did, so I hope you will not have lingering effects. Perhaps the most unpleasant consequence for me has been a tendency to keep my face in an emotion-neutral expression so as to minimize the apparent effects of the disorder. As a result, I am sometimes judged to be rather emotionally flat and stoic. I have to be wary of that, especially when around people who don't know me well. Watch out for that, and good luck on your recovery.

Amy is a real human being who has been working like some galley slave over the last few years between speaking appearences, book promotions,(her own and othre's like Jeremy Scahill and Naomi Klein), fund raising, and the pressure of hosting an hour-long newscast 260 times a year.

Anyone else submitting to such a high pressure schedule and constant frenetic activity would find thier stmina, immune system and general health compromised. Take care of yourself Amy, Juan and other associates at DN help her with the burdens she carries, nad know that by the growing hundreds of thousands appreciate your splendid efforts.

It's telling of Amy's good intentions for our society that she relates this difficult story about herself, then adds:

"I feel fortunate to have good health insurance, yet feel unfortunate to live in a society where other people's access to health care is subject to the whims of fortune."

Weather tackling human rights abuses in Guatamala, or speaking to Animal Rights Activist nobody does it better than Amy Goodman.

A few years ago, the film maker Michael Moore called you a "National Treasure". I agree.

Bell's palsy signifies paralysis of facial muscles related to inflammation of the associated seventh Cranial Nerve. Physicians may not realize that this syndrome is caused by the spirochetal agent of Lyme disease until proven otherwise. Whether it is a full or hemifacial paralysis, Bell's palsy is cosmetically disfiguring when fully expressed. Sudden loss of normal facial expression terrifies patients who naturally fear they are having a stroke. When a smile is asked for, normal countenances warp into bizarre grimaces. The amount of tooth area exposed in this attempt to smile helps doctors evaluate the degree of paralysis and its change over time. In every case of Bell's, doctors need to carefully investigate by history, physical, and laboratory work every shred of evidence that might suggest the presence of cryptic tertiary Lyme, a serious multisystem, gut and neuro-brain infection even though about half of fully diagnosed patients have no evidence whatsoever of having had a tick-bite. Bell's Palsy, even in a non-edemic area, should trigger a Lyme serology.

Once again...I love you Amy...

You never cease to amaze me with your zeal for truth and your inexhaustible stamina

Amy the first time experience can certainly be a frightening one.

I have had Bells palsy four times in the past 30 years.
Only one of those was a very light case… maybe four-five days…
The last time some 3 years back was for the first time actually quite painful.
I have never been thrilled with the results of the "conventional = medication" treatment that I have received.
For me acupuncture with electrical stimulation has been the most effective.
It also serves to help exercise the facial muscles and keep tone.
The first time 30 years ago I traveled to Mexico to get treatment.

One of the problems for those that may even be lucky enough to have health insurance as I did the first 3 times is that it usually does not cover much in the way of alternative treatment.

AMY,IT TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE TO GO ON CAMERA WITH ANY DEFECT. IT WILL NOT BE LONG BEFORE YOU WILL HAVE YOUR SMILE BACK.

Sometimes Bell's Palsy is caused by a dental problem. Check your upper back teeth on that side of the face. Be well Amy.

Amy, a story from North of the Border which might cheer you. When Jean Chretien as leader of the Liberal party was running against Kim Campbell of the Conservative party for control of government, the Conservative party launched an ad focusing visually on the fact that John Chretien had Bell's palsy, with the voice over saying "I'd be ashamed to have this man as my Prime Minister". This attack not on policy but on appearance hurt the conservative campaign enormously, and the ad was quickly withdrawn. However, by then the damage had been done, and the conservative party went from having a majority in our federal parliament to holding just two seats. Prime Minister Kim Campbell even lost her (till then presumed secure) own seat, and never subsequently ran for re-election. Please continue to promote policy, irrespective of your appearance. The one matters; the other really doesn't.

Ian

I have always greatly admired you and your determination to bring alternative news to the US public. Now my admiration has increased with your determination not to let your (temporary) disability interfere with this goal. A classmate of mine had Bell's Palsy so I recognized it, and felt proud that you continued with your passion in spite of the prevailing attitudes about acceptable TV appearances.
I also wondered if and how the story would surface and I am so glad it surfaced through you.
Thank you, Amy, for your courage and wider perspective on so many matters.

Thank you Amy!

Thanks Amy for reporting on something so personal and important as your bout with Bell's Palsy. Another hero of mine, Ralph Nader, has experienced the very physically and noticable health ailment and has overcome the symptoms to keep in the public eye (as much as the corporate media will give him which isn't much) as you have. KUDOS to you for being a strong and determined journalist and human being!!!

I am one of the tens of millions of uninsured Americans whose only form of "insurance protection" I have is to consume food and drinks that I believe to be GMO and pesticide free, low-fat and healthy, to exercise enough and keep my mind as stress-free as possible to avoid the need to go to a doctor or the hospital. I refuse to keep the insurance industry alive thereby risking my health but that is the price I am willing to pay. Thanks for caring about people like me and keep me and others in your thoughts and keep fighting for all of us!!!

peace,

Mindy

Amy, you are still beautiful but if we weren't, your integrity would still outshine all of the TV news barbie dolls. I find nothing attractive when you can't see people's character in their face.