A woman in her 30s named Stav, a pseudonym, went to a Clalit clinic in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood just one week after giving birth to her third daughter, seeking help for severe breast pain and suspected mastitis from breastfeeding. During the routine visit, nurse Zoharit Gabay noticed that Stav’s face was not symmetrical, with one eye appearing more open and one side of her mouth slightly different.
Although Stav had not complained of neurological symptoms, Gabay paused the examination, asked her to look in a mirror and smile, and then alerted the clinic’s nursing manager, Rina. Stav was sent to the family doctor, who immediately referred her to the emergency department with suspected Bell’s palsy. The hospital confirmed the diagnosis and started treatment right away.
Stav said the doctors told her she had arrived in time. She said she had been preoccupied with the baby, her other children and lack of sleep, adding that she did not think she would have noticed the facial change herself. Her husband also praised Gabay for seeing something others might have ignored, checking it, consulting colleagues and acting quickly. Gabay later called Stav two days after the incident, and Stav had already begun treatment and thanked the clinic team.
Gabay said the case shows what community medicine should look like, not only treating the problem that brought the patient in, but seeing the whole person. Family physician Dr. Hatzfiva Zra Aviv of Clalit’s Jerusalem district explained that Bell’s palsy is caused by inflammation and swelling of the facial nerve, which can create pressure and temporary paralysis on one side of the face. She said the postpartum period can increase risk because of hormonal and physical changes, fatigue, stress and temporary immune weakness, and stressed that early treatment in the first days greatly improves the chance of full recovery and reduces the risk of lasting damage.
