Justin Bieber postpones shows due to facial paralysis from Ramsay Hunt syndrome

Justin Bieber announced in an Instagram video on Friday that he has to postpone upcoming shows as he is suffering from a disorder called Ramsay Hunt syndrome, where a virus attacks a primary nerve in the face and causes paralysis. He is unable to move half of his face and cannot smile or blink on that side. He was heartfelt and sad about it and is doing physical therapy. Ramsay Hunt syndrome is typically temporary and can last from a few weeks to a few months. In an Instagram story text added over the weekend, Justin said that he is having difficulty eating and asked for prayers.

Justin Bieber… revealed he’s started having trouble eating and has asked his fans to keep in their prayers that he recovers from the condition.

“Been getting progressively harder to eat, which has been extremely frustrating, please pray for me,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories on Friday, adding a teary-eyed emoji.

The singer shared he was dealing with the rare neurological disorder earlier on Friday in a video on Instagram.

In the video, the star explained to his fans he was suffering from partial facial paralysis – a symptom of the syndrome.

“Obviously, as you can probably see from my face, I have this syndrome called Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” he said.

“As you can see, this eye is not blinking,” he continued. “I can’t smile with this side of my face, this nostril will not move, so there is full paralysis in this side of my face.”

The two-time Grammy winner went on to address his recently postponed live shows, saying he’s “physically, obviously not capable of doing them.”

“This is pretty serious as you can see. I wish this wasn’t the case but obviously, my body is telling me I got to slow down and I hope you guys understand and I’ll be using this time to rest and relax and get back to 100 percent so that I can do what I was born to do,” he continued.

[From People]

It must be rough to not be able to do your job when you’re a performer. I have had Bell’s Palsy and it’s similar in that half your face is drooping, but since I’ve always worked online at least I didn’t have to worry about it affecting my job. I felt uncomfortable and self conscious talking to people and it was rough but went away after a few weeks. A friend who worked as a newscaster had Bell’s Palsy from lyme disease. He was sent to do behind the scenes work until it passed.

I hadn’t heard of Ramsay Hunt before now but it’s caused by the varicella-zoster virus that causes chicken pox and shingles. It’s scary to think of all the viruses that lie dormant in our systems and could sideline us like that! I’m so ready to get the shingles vaccine but I have to wait until next year when I’m 50. I hope Justin is OK and I know he has the best doctors and nutritionists helping him. He also has his faith in God. When things get tough for me I try to think that everything happens for a reason too. It doesn’t always work, but it helps.

Photos credit: Backgrid, Avalon.red and via Instagram

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