Unexpected mom Lexus Scheller surprised her social media followers on Wednesday when she posted a startling video revealing that she has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy and half of her face is paralyzed.
Lexus posted a series of videos on Tik Tok and Instagram filmed in a hospitl room in San Antonio, Texas. She had just completed a roughly 20-hour road trip from Indiana with her fiance, Isaiah Norwood.
“So, we made it to San Antonio,” Lexus began her first clip, “But on the way down here I started noticing something was going on with my face. If you can’t tell,” she gestures to her face, “this side of my face is paralyzed.”
Lexus reveals that she is in an emergency room and was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. She also says she’s is having difficulty getting her insurance to cover the costs because she is out of state. “This is gonna be really f***ing expensive,” Lexus says.
The former reality star talks about the fact that she can’t move her eyebrows, can’t smile, and can’t close her eye before asking for thoughts and prayers.
In the caption for the Tik Tok clip, Lexus included her Cash App ID:
My cashapp is $Lexus0502 if anyone would be so kind to help me out. I wouldnt wish this on anyone. Idk how long it will take to regain movement in my face either. ššš I just wanted to enjoy my vacation.
Very soon after her first clip, Lexus uploaded another very brief video in which she demonstrated the lack of movement in half of her face.
@lexus.scheller literally kms #fyp #bellspalsy #facialparalysis
Lexus hopped over to Instagram for another video with a little more information. “My whole right side of my face is paralyzed,” she says. “It’s really hard to talk. My eye’s watering constantly because I can’t close it all the way. I can barely eat. My tongue is paralyzed — just on the right side.”
Lexus says the first symptoms were jaw and ear pain about three days ago. She thought it might be an ear infection, which didn’t bode well given that she was about to take a very long road trip.
The initial symptoms went away, and Lexus was optimistic that whatever it was had run its course. Then she started experiencing tongue paralysis. It was on Tuesday, as the couple was still driving, that the facial paralysis symptoms started.
So, she went to the hospital and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. Lexus explains that they don’t know what the cause is, and adds that Bell’s palsy can “just happen.” That is backed up by the overview of Bell’s Palsy on mayoclinic.org:
Bell’s palsy is a condition that causes sudden weakness in the muscles on one side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. The weakness makes half of the face appear to droop. Smiles are one-sided, and the eye on the affected side resists closing.
Bell’s palsy is also known as acute peripheral facial palsy of unknown cause. It can occur at any age. The exact cause is unknown. Experts think it’s caused by swelling and inflammation of the nerve that controls the muscles on one side of the face. It could be caused by a reaction that occurs after a viral infection.
Symptoms usually start to improve within a few weeks, with complete recovery in about six months. A small number of people continue to have some Bell’s palsy symptoms for life. Rarely, Bell’s palsy occurs more than once.
Here’s her full Instagram post:
Lexus responded to numerous comments on Tik Tok and Instagram, including A LOT of people asking if Lexus was vaccinated. Most of them were a bit surprised when Lexus admitted that she is not vaccinated.
Here are some excerpts from Lexus’s interactions with people in the comments:
COMMENT: I hope they gave you something to protect your eye. I had it as well and had eye drops and had to tape my eye shut and wear a patch.
LEXUS: We have it taped shut right now since I canāt blink it itās soo dry & watery
COMMENT: I had this. Are u under a lot of stress?
LEXUS: Yes we just travelled from indiana to texas in the car so it was very stressful
COMMENT: Just curiousā¦ my grandma got this years agoā¦ she was a big smokerā¦ do you smoke cigarettes by any chance? Heard this was a big cause of this as well.
LEXUS: I vape pretty heavy
COMMENT: Did your doc say this could be the cause?
LEXUS: They really didnāt tell me much, I’m 5 states away from home so Iām going to doc as soon as I get back to get more info.
COMMENT: Did you get vaccinated?
LEXUS: No Iām unvaccinated.
COMMENT: Really wow Iām glad! Then you need to have some very much needed rest! Have a friend help you with the kids and just rest babygirl.
COMMENT: Is it permanent or will it go away? Sorry.
LEXUS: Anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months it said in my discharge paperwork. š„ŗ
COMMENT: Mine happens when I get too stressed. Just try to relax it always helps mine. I hope you get feeling better soon. It truly sucks when I call them episodes happen. Iāve had them on and off since I was 16. Praying for ya āŗļø
LEXUS: Thank you. I definitely think itās from being sooo stressed out. I def need to chill out.
COMMENT: Probably stress related
LEXUS: Yes I think so I was so stressed out for this trip.
Several commenters suggested that Lexus get tested for Lyme disease. On the CDC website, it states that neurologic Lyme disease can result in cranial nerve involvement. “When the cranial nerves are affected, facial palsy (droop) can occur on one or both sides of the face.”
“When I get back home Iām going to def get tested,” Lexus responded to someone suggesting the facial paralysis might be because of Lyme disease.
The whole ordeal sounds terrifying, especially when you are more than a thousand miles from home! Our thoughts are with Lexus and we hope she has a very speedy recovery!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
