"Being six, you never really understand the severity of the situation. I had no idea if I was going to gain control back in my face or if this was something I was going to be stuck with forever; and, that devastated me."
Read more about Emma Edwards and her battle with hearing loss and Bell's Palsy
What is your career goal and why?
My career goal is to become a physician's assistant and specialize in infectious diseases. I feel that infectious diseases are something that will never truly go away no matter how many medical advances the world may come up with. Being able to help those people through rough times has just always been an interest of mine.
Â
Why did I choose UMHB?
I chose UMHB because of the welcoming environment. While I am here for soccer, I have never been so immersed in a Christian environment before. You truly feel at home every time you walk on campus and it gives you a sense of belonging. As we all are away from home, it is nice to have a home away from home.
Â
Battle with Bell's Palsy:
I was six years old when I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. It was after my sixth birthday party when my parents had noticed the right side of my face was frozen. I wasn't able to smile and it caused my right eye to droop. Being six, you never really understand the severity of the situation. I had no idea if I was going to gain control back in my face or if this was something I was going to be stuck with forever; and, that devastated me. I was a very happy kid and not being able to even smile caused a sense of panic. I was taken to my pediatrician and since I was a minor, I was only allowed to treat it with antiviral medication. While they were figuring out the cause, I wasn't allowed to be in the heat or exercise. My dad and I built a cardboard car, so that my parents could pull me around in it. Everyday my parents had to take pictures of my face to see if there was any progress. In the beginning, there wasn't very much progress and I lost hope. I didn't want my life to change. I was already the kid who had to wear hearing aids and now this was going to be added on top of it. Kids weren't very nice about it as they didn't understand and I still remember the feelings I had about it all. It took three months for me to regain control in my face. To this day, I still don't have 100% control. Due to the fact I was young and developing when I was diagnosed, the muscles in my face were delayed in development. So, when looked at closely in pictures it is very noticeable. I was 7 when we finally found out what caused the Bell's Palsy, that being a viral infection. I still am susceptible to it coming back, so I have to take certain precautions in my everyday life. However, every day I am grateful and absolutely blessed that I was able to overcome this obstacle.
Â
Tell us about your hearing loss.
Before and during the Bell's Palsy, I was the kid who always had ear infections. Very painful I know! I had three sets of tubes put in during the time of trying to stop all the ear infections. However, the tubes ended up causing me to develop scar tissue in my ear and I was left with permanent hearing loss. I was able to have my adenoids removed and have the ear infections come to a stop, but now I had to get hearing aids. When I was discovering soccer, I had found it was difficult to hear the people next to and behind me. This caused a sense of frustration because I always felt one step behind. This is how I came to be a goalkeeper! Being a goalkeeper meant that my teammates would be in front of me and my coach was too. It ended up being a perfect fit. It allowed me to regain the sense of belonging in the sport and now I am the first collegiate athlete in my family. Although I was able to find compensation for my hearing loss on the field, I had to wear hearing aids in the classroom. I had to test yearly and eventually I stopped wearing them due to being bullied. I learned to read people's lips and pay attention to key words they say, so when I don't hear a full sentence, I can piece together what they were trying to say. However, I know now that Bell's Palsy nor hearing loss defines who I am.
Â
