Overview

• Kelly Stech, 30, from Chicago, developed right‑side facial paralysis in the week leading up to her Oct. 6, 2023 wedding.
• Urgent care initially treated ear blisters as cellulitis, and hospital staff later suspected an antibiotic reaction causing Bell’s palsy before a final diagnosis.
• Doctors ultimately diagnosed Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a shingles flare involving the facial nerve that can cause facial weakness and eye complications.
• She proceeded with a scaled‑down ceremony of about 50 guests, struggled to blink as her right eyelid stopped working, and tried to minimise the visible effects in photos.
• She reports full recovery, is eight months pregnant, and says doctors attributed the episode to wedding‑planning stress.