Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, shared the heartbreaking news that she is experiencing facial paralysis that doctors believe may be Bell’s Palsy.
“I woke up nine days ago with a little weird sensation in my face,” Palin, 34, said in a social media video posted January 29. “My mouth was pulling this way and it just felt, like, a little off. So I went and looked in the mirror—I’m like, ‘Wow, this is looking a little weird.'”
The condition rapidly progressed over several hours, she said.
“Within a couple of hours, the entire left side of my face was numb and just paralyzed. I couldn’t really blink my eye… definitely had no movement on the side of my face,” Palin said.
After undergoing a CT scan and medical tests, doctors administered steroids and other medications. “Nothing came back in all the results,” Palin reported. “They think it’s just a case of Bell’s Palsy, maybe brought on by stress or lack of sleep. I’m not really sure.”
Take a look —
NEW: Bristol Palin, the daughter of Sarah Palin, says she has been suffering from a neurological disorder that is "pulling her face" to the left.
Palin says the facial paralysis started over a week ago, making her face numb.
"Within a couple of hours, the entire left side of my… pic.twitter.com/nXBXFEupKi
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 30, 2025
Bell’s Palsy causes a weakness in facial muscles, resulting in drooping on one side of the face, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Palin has been documenting her daily recovery through social media videos showing improvements in facial movement.
“I know I look crazy right now but this has been such an improvement from what I was looking like,” she said. “I’m finally starting to get some of the sensation back.”
The mother of three found perspective in the health scare.
“The next time that I look in the mirror and I pick myself apart where it’s like, ‘Oh my nose is long. I want a nose job. I want to do this. I want to do that,’ I am going to remember this and I am just going to be so thankful for a normal functioning face ’cause this has been wild.”
The former Teen Mom OG star shares son Tripp, 16, with ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston and daughters Sailor, 9, and Atlee, 7, with ex-husband Dakota Meyer.