@consultant_clinic: One year ago today was the last day I ever saw my “normal” face, though of course I didn’t know it. I was drowning in workload ahead of our Christmas Paris opening. Half my lovely team were heavily pregnant, and I was pinging across countries trying to cover clinics. Secretly, I thrived on it. Productivity has always been my raison d’être. But the warning signs were stacking up. And I ignored every one. I wasn’t feeling well at all. I was waking at 5am to train on three hours sleep. It had just been my daughter’s birthday. I was planning an NYC trip for my girls to over compensate for a familial visit they didn’t want to make. I wasn’t burning the candle at both ends, I had a f*cking flamethrower on it. I told myself I’d relax in January… biggest lie I ever told. If you’ve seen me in clinic, you know I’m a quirky ball of energy who sprints up the stairs, tells questionable anecdotes, dances, sings and does all the voices. Basically Robin Williams in scrubs. I never get tired. I just called exhausted “busy” and wore it like a badge of honour. Then came the moment in Paris I’ll never forget. A patient told me she had awful cramps, so I offered to sprint to the pharmacy for ibuprofen. But when I stepped out of the room, a thunderclap pain hit me so hard I dropped silently onto my saddle chair. “Fuck. That hurts.” I have a ridiculous pain threshold, but I was dizzy and barely able to speak. I told Dr Gareth I’d be “reet”, swallowed the patient’s ibuprofen (soz!) and after a few minutes, carried on. But my wearable tech was screaming that my body was “under major strain”. And after chipping a tooth in Paris, one of my team kindly fixed it for me once we were home. On the drive back, I noticed something subtle but wrong. One side of my face felt stiff. Not panic worthy, but not right. I rang Dr Kate: “Mate… did you numb my mouth at all?”She said no. Anxiety slithered in. But instead of resting like a sane person, I launched myself into another heavy weights session. In the mirror, mid deadlift, it was undeniable. The whole left side of my face wasn’t moving properly. My trainer saw it too and refused to continue. Part II incoming

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Monday 01 December 2025 10:48:57 GMT