A control engineer´s view of Bell´s Palsy

The New Columbia Encyclopedia states that palsy is complete loss or impairment of the ability to use voluntary muscles, usually as a result of a disorder of the nervous system. In 1828 Charles Bell gave the classic description of what came to be known as Bell´s Palsy. Bell´s Palsy is defined as an idiopathic unilateral facial nerve paralysis, usually self-limiting. Idiopathic means of unknown origin, but the immediate cause is a virus. This article presents a control engineer´s description of the onset, treatment, and subsequent return to health from an attack of Bell´s Palsy. To lend verisimilitude, it is assumed the control engineer himself has Bell´s Palsy