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Bride Left Paralyzed On Her Wedding Day After Doctors Said Her Symptoms Were ‘Completely Fine’

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Kelly Stech spent a year planning her dream wedding, only for a sudden health crisis to change everything the night before the big day
A wedding day is usually imagined as the perfect celebration, but for one bride it turned into an unexpected ordeal when she woke up unable to move half her face just hours before walking down the aisle.Planning a wedding can be stressful enough with all the details — the food, the flowers, the decorations, the outfits, and the guest list. But few brides would ever expect a sudden medical emergency to be what overshadows their big day.Unfortunately for Kelly Stech, that’s exactly what happened.

The 30-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, found herself completely paralyzed on one side of her face after stress from months of planning caught up with her.Kelly and her fiancé Benjamin Stech had been engaged since July 2022 and invested around $50,000 into their dream wedding. Just a week before they were set to say their vows, Kelly began experiencing unusual symptoms, including ear pain when swallowing.By the night before her wedding, she couldn’t move one side of her face at all, leaving her unable to smile in her wedding photos.

Kelly Stech suddenly experienced a health scare on the night before her wedding to her now-husband BenjaminKennedy News and Media
Her condition had started days earlier when she noticed painful, swollen blisters forming in her right ear.Kelly explained: “Exactly a week before the wedding, I was starting to feel under the weather. The following day, at work I felt like I had an ear infection coming on.”“It hurt to swallow and I felt a popping sensation in my ear. I went to urgent care and they said it looked completely fine and there was no infection brewing.”

She remembered waking up that Monday with her ear completely swollen and blistered. After visiting urgent care, she was prescribed steroids and antibiotics for what was thought to be cellulitis.But instead of getting better, her condition deteriorated quickly. The evening before her wedding, the right side of her face had become completely paralyzed, making it impossible for her to smile or even move her features naturally on her big day.

Still, she went ahead with the ceremony on October 6, 2023, despite the exhaustion and pain she was in.

Kelly said she woke up on her wedding morning to a blistered earKennedy News and Media

 

 

Kelly recalled that she had been vomiting constantly and couldn’t keep food down. Soon she realized she had also lost movement in half of her face.Doctors later diagnosed her with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare condition linked to shingles that affects the facial nerves near the ear.“I went back to urgent care and they transferred me to a hospital. We were supposed to be going to our rehearsal dinner that night,” Kelly said, remembering how she was rushed to the hospital instead of her rehearsal dinner.

At first doctors thought she was allergic to an IV drip and diagnosed her with Bell’s Palsy, a condition that causes temporary facial paralysis. Later they confirmed she was suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome.The Mayo Clinic notes that the condition can cause rashes, hearing loss, and even permanent nerve damage if not treated quickly. It’s caused by the same virus that leads to chickenpox, which can stay dormant in nerves for years before reactivating.

Half of Kelly’s face ended up being paralyzed due to Ramsay Hunt syndromeKennedy News and Media

 

 

For Kelly, the illness turned her carefully planned wedding upside down. She reduced her guest list from 200 to just 50 people and asked her bridesmaids to stand on her affected side to help hide the paralysis from the crowd.She admitted that she struggled with the idea of facing her guests looking so unwell but decided to push forward with the day anyway.
She reflected: “I felt like it was the happiest day of my life but I didn’t want people to think I looked miserable because I couldn’t smile on my wedding day. I couldn’t drink any alcohol. I was in so much pain and so tired.”Thankfully, she has now regained movement in her face and is focused on the future. Kelly, who is currently eight months pregnant, also admitted: “It’s hard to believe this happened. My wedding stress definitely caused this.”

She said her wedding day was supposed to be perfectKennedy News and Media

 

 

“The financial stress of it definitely takes a toll. We got to experience first-hand early on what ‘in sickness and health’ actually meant.”“I tell friends stressed about wedding planning, be grateful you’re in this position and don’t let it stress you out, you don’t want to end up paralysed on your wedding day.”“Don’t stress about your shoes or the weather.”

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