They can't smile, but they know how to love: a man and a woman with a rare facial anomaly decided to get married
Briton Alex Barker and American Erin Smith are among the few people in the world who suffer from a rare facial anomaly caused by Mobius syndrome. This disease leads to paralysis of the facial nerve and, consequently, a complete absence of facial expressions.
But that didn't stop Alex and Erin from falling in love with each other after just four dates. Now a couple with a rare disease intends to legitimize their relationship, because their meeting is fate, future spouses are sure.
Mobius syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly that develops mainly due to the incorrect structure of the cranial nerves. People suffering from this disease (and now there are less than a thousand of them around the world) completely lack facial expressions. A person with Mobius syndrome does not react to external stimuli in any way, cannot smile or frown, is devoid of any emotions — even when crying or laughing, his facial expression remains unchanged. Also, this ailment makes it difficult to speak, suck and swallow, may be accompanied by anatomical anomalies and other health problems.
Alex Barker and Erin Smith
Many people mistakenly perceive people with this rare pathology as mentally retarded individuals. In fact, patients with this defect may well lead a full life, work, create families and have children, and developmental delay is observed only in 10% of cases.
45-year-old Alex Barker from Britain and 38-year-old Erin Smith from the USA met on a website for people with Mobius syndrome and almost immediately fell in love with each other. The two decided to meet to get to know each other better. After four such dates, they realized that they were bound by fate.
The woman admits that she is very happy to be near a person who understands and supports her in everything. And Erin is just crazy about her lover's British accent.
According to Alex, despite the fact that he and Erin cannot express emotions using facial expressions, they understand each other perfectly.
In the near future, Alex and Erin are planning to get married, and in the future they will consider the possibility of having offspring. The couple has already been examined and found out that they have a chance to give birth to a healthy child, although the risk is still very high.
Keywords: Disease | Face | Facial expressions | Paralysis | Syndrome | Emotions