From a practical point of view, I can't blow up balloons, blow out candles or gargle. I can't blow raspberries and I can't whistle, and I remember being so proud of myself in primary school when Richard Larnders taught me how to whistle properly. 

There are also the psychological effects. Not least because the image of beauty and worth that we are sold by the media includes that beautiful wide dazzling smile, but also because of the looks and comments from other people. 

People regularly crack jokes about Bell's Palsy; search it on social media (not this week because we've filled it with awesomeness) and it's often full of cruel comments. 

People stare; out of curiosity or just rudeness, either way is awful. People actually ask "What is wrong with your face?". People use it to hurt you and tell you nobody is going to want you with a face like that. 

As well as the difficulty in getting treatment, both finding a specialist and getting funding, there is also a general perception about Botox. I have lost count of the number of hurtful comments about me having Botox; about it being vain, about getting old. 

I don't have frown lines because I can't frown and I don't have laughter lines because my eyes don't scrunch when I laugh, nothing to do with Botox and also because I take exceptionally good care of my skin. 

Botox allows me to live my life, to do things other people take for granted. Botox enabled me to run Blenheim Triathlon on my 30th birthday. Botox enabled me to go swimming in a mountain lake in New Hampshire. Botox enables me to leave the house in winter without suffering agonising pain and helped stop most of my migraines.