I know it's frustrating, but try to stay calm

It's what I heard after I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy – a type of facial palsy where half of your face suddenly clocks off, leaving no note behind. Not even a brb.

Nobody I knew had ever heard of Bell's Palsy, though I was told it's quite common. Instead of a leaflet about this complex condition, I was handed a generic but hopeful "Keep calm, it should resolve on its own in time."

The time ranging from four weeks to nine months. Or more.

Isn't that. just. great?

So, of course I didn't stay calm. I spiralled and started googling. In week 4, I even went privately to a 'specialist' with raving Google reviews – whose recommendations contradicted everything on the NHS site.

While waiting for an NHS referral, I came across mountains of misleading and dangerous information, and this made me furious. I was already overwhelmed by dozens of symptoms, why was misinformation one of them?

So I built Bel – an AI companion that answers Bell's Palsy questions based only on NHS and Facial Palsy UK data. And my lived experience.

Bel is free. You make an account first, which keeps it for the people who genuinely need it rather than anyone passing through.

Btw, I'm a creative director, not a doctor. Bel has trustworthy data but no medical degrees. Keep that in mind when you're talking to her.