Ep. 89 | Half a Face
MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries
Wondery | Ballen Studios
4.7 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 17 June 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A teenage girl panics when clumps of hair start to fall off the right side of her head. From there, the problem gets even worse - the entire right side of her face starts to crumple in. But the problem isn’t just cosmetic. It’s extremely painful… and her doctors have no idea how to stop it.
Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter
Follow MrBallen's Medical Mysteries on Amazon Music, the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes publish for free every Tuesday. Prime members can listen to new episodes early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Or, you can listen episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or by visiting https://wondery.com/links/mrballens-medical-mysteries/ now.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey, Prime Members. You can listen to new episodes of Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries early and ad-free. |
| 0:05.3 | Download the Amazon Music app today. |
| 0:10.8 | One evening, in May of 2006, a 15-year-old girl in suburban Maryland was picking out an outfit for a night out with friends |
| 0:21.9 | to celebrate the end of the school year. But she was distracted by a dull throb in her jaw that |
| 0:26.9 | had started a few days earlier, with no obvious cause. She took some aspirin, and when the pain eased, |
| 0:32.9 | she returned to her closet and found a dress. But as she did her makeup in the bathroom, she noticed something strange in the mirror. |
| 0:40.0 | No matter what expression she made, her face looked different. |
| 0:43.9 | Her mouth was sort of crooked, straight on the left side, but drooping on the right. |
| 0:48.5 | It was like half her face was frowning. |
| 0:50.4 | And the longer she stared, the less she recognized herself. |
| 1:01.3 | Thank you. frowning. And the longer she stared, the less she recognized herself. You've been through one diet after another, maybe for years. You've counted calories, |
| 1:06.8 | pushed through workouts, cut carbs, and still the weight came back. It's exhausting. You've been told |
| 1:13.5 | it's about willpower, but really, it's about science. With Vo's a weight loss program, we combine |
| 1:21.0 | medication with expert support to help you reach your goals. We don't believe in one-size-fits-all |
| 1:27.1 | solutions. |
| 1:28.5 | Voie's medication is personalised based on what's right for you. |
| 1:32.4 | You'll have a full care team behind you, |
| 1:34.7 | from Voie clinicians checking in on you |
| 1:36.6 | to a personal coach keeping you motivated. |
| 1:39.8 | And with the VOI app, your team is always just to tap away, |
| 1:43.1 | anytime, anywhere. Join over 100,000 |
| 1:46.9 | people across the UK already seen results with Voie at joinvoy.com slash Wondery. Unshure if it's |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 9 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery | Ballen Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery | Ballen Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.