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Norm Coleman confirms he has Bell's palsy
Bell’s palsy is a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of the face and can come on suddenly but often gets better on its own within a few weeks. Video: From BringMeTheNews.com.
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Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman has been diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a temporary condition that has paralyzed the left side of his face.
Doctors told him he shouldn't be left with any permanent nerve damage, Coleman said Thursday night from his home in St. Paul. "I have some movement on my left side so that provides for a more optimistic prognosis," he said.
Bell's palsy is a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. It can come on suddenly but often gets better on its own within a few weeks. The cause of Bell's palsy, which sometimes can be confused with stroke symptoms, is not clear.
Coleman said he began noticing problems last week when he was in Washington. "I thought I had allergies. My eye was tearing," he said. Then just before boarding a plane to return to Minnesota, Coleman took a sip of water and noticed "it kind of dribbled." On the plane, he noticed only half his face worked while talking to passengers. "I was smiling but I realized that my whole face wasn't smiling -- just half of my face."
He figured he had a medical problem but he wasn't concerned that it was a stroke. "I was thinking clearly ... but my muscles weren't responding," he said.
Back in St. Paul, Coleman went to his doctor. His wife, Laurie, had a bad case of Lyme disease this summer and he was tested for it. But the former senator doesn't have Lyme disease; the diagnosis was Bell's palsy.
In an effort to keep the inflammation around the nerve cells from causing permanent damage, he said he has been taking high doses of steroids. But because the steroids lower immunity, his doctor advised him to cancel his work travel plans that included airline trips to California and Washington.
Coleman said he still has pain in his left eye, which won't close. "I have to tape my eye shut when I go to bed," he said.
It's difficult to know how long this will last, he said. "Sometimes it can be two weeks, two months or six months," he said. But he pointed out that this is not an unusual condition. "You do a little research and you find out that Ralph Nader had it, George Clooney had it and Andrew Lloyd Webber had it."
Coleman said he hopes to get back to a reasonably full work schedule by next week. "I'm just going to be talking out of one side of my mouth," Coleman said, laughing. "It's a temporary inconvenience. It's like having that feeling of novacaine on the one side of my face. But instead of it lasting an hour, it can last weeks if not longer. But you learn to deal with it. There are a lot worse things in life."
Coleman first discussed the diagnosis during an interview with Rick Kupchella, founder of a new local website, BringMeTheNews.com. Kupchella's wife is a former aide to Coleman. Excerpts of the interview were posted Thursday night and the full interview will be posted Sunday.
Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788
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