Health
The girl who can’t smile: How a rare disorder became a young woman's ‘greatest gift’
Tayla Clement, 26, was born with a rare disorder that has made it impossible for her to smile — but she says she is grateful for it.
Born and raised in New Zealand, Clement has Moebius syndrome, a neurological disease that affects one child out of every 50,000 to 500,000 born, research shows.
Moebius occurs when a baby’s facial nerves are underdeveloped. The primary effects are facial paralysis and inhibited eye movement, but the condition can also cause difficulty with speech, swallowing and chewing, according to Johns Hopkins.
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“The syndrome affects my sixth and seventh cranial nerve, so it’s essentially like facial paralysis,” Clement told Fox News Digital in an interview.
It also means Clement can’t move her eyebrows or upper lip — and can’t shift her eyes from side to side.
Tayla Clement, born and raised in New Zealand, has Moebius syndrome, a neurological disease that affects one child out of every 50,000 to 500,000. (Tayla Clement)
Dr. Juliann Paolicchi, a pediatric neurologist and the director of pediatric epilepsy at Staten Island University Hospital in New York, has treated several babies with Moebius syndrome. (He was not involved in Clement’s care.)
“Infants born with the syndrome may have a lopsided face, may not be able to form a smile, and may have feeding problems early in life,” he told Fox News Digital.
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They can also experience orthopedic anomalies, such as abnormal development of the fingers and feet.
“Other parts of the face and eyes may be affected, such as a small jaw, cleft palate and smaller-sized eyes,” Paolicchi added.
Growing up without the ability to smile brought plenty of challenges for Clement, who said she was bullied for years — “for as long as I can remember,” she told Fox News Digital. (Tayla Clement)
While children with Moebius syndrome do not have problems with intellectual development, social situations can be a challenge due to a decreased ability to demonstrate emotions with the face, Paolicchi said.
“They are often mistaken as being sad or overly serious, when they are simply just not able to smile,” he said.
‘Quite isolating’
Growing up without the ability to smile brought plenty of challenges for Clement, she said.
She was born in 1997, before the advent of social media, so she wasn’t able to connect with others facing the same challenge.
“With the syndrome being super rare and also coming from a small country, it was quite isolating,” she said.
“As an 11-year-old girl, I thought, if I could just smile, I would have friends and wouldn’t get bullied anymore.”
Clement said she was bullied for years, “for as long as I can remember.”
“It started off as verbal bullying — being told that I was ugly or worthless, or being isolated and not having any friends.”
Clement is pictured at 11 years old after undergoing facial surgery, which was ultimately unsuccessful. (Tayla Clement)
Things got worse when Clement was 11, after she had a major operation in an attempt to correct her inability to smile.
During the “invasive” nine-hour surgery, doctors took tissue from her right thigh and inserted it internally into the corners of her mouth and into her temples.
“The idea was that when I would clench down on my jaw, the tissue that was planted would pull the corners of my mouth up to mimic a normal smile,” she recalled to Fox News Digital.
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Paolicchi confirmed that corrective surgery is sometimes performed on babies and children with Moebius syndrome.
“This is a complicated and specialized procedure.”
“The procedure, called the ‘smile’ surgery, helps not only appearance, but the ability to smile and to be able to pronounce words more clearly,” he said.
“This procedure does involve transferring portions of the person’s own muscle to the face and connecting it to the working nerves of the face. This is a complicated and specialized procedure and should only be performed by surgeons skilled in the procedure.”
Clement is pictured soon after receiving major surgery at 11 years old. “The procedure, called the ‘smile’ surgery, helps not only appearance, but the ability to smile and to be able to pronounce words more clearly,” a doctor said. (Tayla Clement)
The surgery does come with risks. Clement noted that there was a “very fine line” between tightening the area too much — which would leave her with a permanent smile — and leaving it too loose and not seeing any results at all.
“As an 11-year-old girl, I thought, if I could just smile, I would have friends and wouldn’t get bullied anymore. So I jumped at the opportunity,” she said.
“I just chose to believe in myself — and that I was destined for something bigger.”
The surgery was unsuccessful — leaving Clement scarred and “completely broken,” she said.
“It was such a horrible time for me,” she said. “But looking back on it now, I couldn’t be more grateful for the surgery being unsuccessful. I think it was all supposed to happen that way.”
Reaching a breaking point
After the operation, the bullying got worse. In addition to calling Clement names, students pushed her into lockers, ripped off her backpack and threw her items on the floor, she said.
“That came with a lot of mental health challenges,” she said. “For much of my childhood, I was quite depressed and anxious.”
While Clement’s family provided her with plenty of love and support — “they’re the reason why I’m still here,” she said — they didn’t know how bad things really were.
While Clement’s family provided her with plenty of love and support — “they’re the reason why I’m still here,” she said — they didn’t know how bad things really were. Clement is pictured here with her mother. (Tayla Clement)
“When I was younger, I never told my parents about what I was going through with the bullying,” Clement said.
“There are still some things that I probably won’t ever tell them about, because I don’t want them to feel sad or upset,” she went on. “I know they would feel like they could have done something, but there’s nothing they could have done.”
In 2015, during her senior year of high school, Clement began collapsing and experiencing seizures.
During her senior year of high school, Clement began collapsing and experiencing seizures. The next year, she was diagnosed with extreme clinical depression and anxiety, along with post-traumatic stress disorder. (Tayla Clement)
The next year, at 18, she was diagnosed with extreme clinical depression and anxiety, along with post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.
“Because I had been through so much stress and trauma, my brain was kind of shutting down,” she said. “The seizures were like a physical form of how much I was struggling internally.”
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At the time, doctors and specialists told Clement that she would have seizures for the rest of her life, and that she’d always be dependent on other people.
But she was determined to prove them wrong.
Intensive therapy played a big part in her recovery, she said.
After her diagnosis, Clement underwent intensive therapy, which she said played a big part in her recovery.
She found herself at a “crossroads,” she said, where she had to choose between working on her mental and physical health and putting herself into a better space, or continuing to feel “unhappy and miserable.”
Clement chose the first path — although it wasn’t easy.
“There were days when I just wanted to give up. I didn’t want to do life anymore because it was so hard,” she said.
In her role as a sports content creator and host, Clement has leveraged her love of rugby into a “new lease on life — a real purpose,” she said.
“I learned quite quickly that the only person who can truly help you is yourself.”
Clement “worked tirelessly,” continuing with therapy, reading many self-help books and adopting healthy daily routines.
“I just chose to believe in myself — and that I was destined for something bigger,” she said.
Saved by a new passion
As it turned out, the “something bigger” was a new career in sports.
Clement had always been a big sports fan — with a particular love of rugby, which is very popular in New Zealand.
In March 2023, she started creating social media content around rugby and motorsports. The Chiefs, a professional rugby union team in New Zealand, gave Clement her first opportunity.
Since entering the rugby scene, Clement has worked to “bring inclusion” into the sport, with a goal of “inspiring, empowering and advocating for positive change.” (Tayla Clement)
This year, Clement interviewed players from four of the Super Rugby Pacific teams, including some of the best players in the world, such as two-time World Rugby Player of the Year Beauden Barrett.
In her role as a sports content creator and host, Clement said she’s leveraged her love of rugby into a “new lease on life — a real purpose.”
Since entering the rugby scene, she has worked to “bring inclusion” into the sport, with a goal of “inspiring, empowering and advocating for positive change.”
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Clement is also aiming, she said, to help other sports organizations incorporate more inclusion into their teams.
“I’ve known from a young age that I’m meant to help people,” Clement told Fox News Digital. “Using my story and my voice to advocate for others and make the sports arena more inclusive makes me so happy. And I’m just getting started.”
‘Grateful for all of it’
It has been three years since Clement experienced a collapse or seizure, she told Fox News Digital.
“I’m living a life I truly never could have dreamed of,” she said. “I’m doing a job that I absolutely love, and I just did not think this level of happiness and contentment was accessible or attainable for me … It’s been a long journey, and I’m very grateful for all of it.”
This year, Clement has interviewed players from four of the Super Rugby Pacific teams, including some of the best players in the world. (Tayla Clement)
Clement has also used her platform to connect with other people who have syndromes or disabilities. Her mission is to educate others about how to treat younger people who feel like they are “not seen or heard” — whether that’s in the sports arena or everyday life.
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“I really needed someone like my present self when I was younger,” she said. “It’s a full-circle moment to be there for other people now.”
Despite the “dark times” she’s experienced, Clement said that being born with Moebius syndrome and not being able to smile has turned out to be “the greatest gift.”
Clement said she aims to help other sports organizations incorporate more inclusion into their teams. “I’ve known from a young age that I’m meant to help people,” she said. (Tayla Clement)
“We’re all born different and unique,” she said. “It has given me the opportunity to use my voice and to be proud of my differences.”
“Being alive is such a gift, and it’s a special thing to be born with Moebius syndrome. It doesn’t make us any less worthy, beautiful or amazing.”
Even though she can’t smile in the traditional sense, Clement says she has her own version.
“I think everyone’s smile is different, just like everyone else is different,” she said.
“I just smile in my own way.”
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Welcome to the Brain Health Challenge! I’m Dana Smith, a reporter at The New York Times, and I’ll be your guide.
To live a healthy life, it’s crucial to have a healthy brain. In the short term, it keeps you sharp and firing on all cylinders. In the long term, it can reduce your risk of cognitive decline, dementia and stroke.
Practicing basic healthy behaviors, like eating nutritious food and getting regular exercise, is the best way to enhance your brain power and protect the longevity of your neurons. These types of lifestyle habits can benefit the brain at any age. And while they won’t guarantee that you’ll never develop dementia or another brain disease, several clinical trials have shown that they can improve cognition or slow decline.
Every day this week, you’ll do an activity that’s good for your brain, and we’ll dig into the science behind why it works. Some of these activities can provide a small immediate cognitive benefit, but the bigger reward comes from engaging in them consistently over time. So along with the neuroscience lessons, we’ll include a few tips to help you turn these actions into lasting habits.
To keep you accountable, we’re encouraging you to complete this challenge with a friend. If you don’t have a challenge buddy, no problem: We’re also turning the comments section into one big support group.
There are so many fascinating ways your daily behaviors affect your brain. Take sleep, for example.
Lots of studies have shown that getting a good night’s rest (seven to eight hours) is associated with better memory and other cognitive abilities. That’s because sleep, especially REM sleep, is when your brain transfers short-term memories — things you learned or experienced during the day — into long-term storage.
Sleep is also when your brain does its daily housekeeping. While you rest, the brain’s glymphatic system kicks into high gear, clearing out abnormal proteins and other molecular garbage, including the protein amyloid, which is a major contributor to Alzheimer’s disease. A buildup of amyloid is one reason experts think that people who routinely get less sleep have a higher risk of dementia.
What other behaviors play a big role in brain health? For today’s activity, we’re going to test your knowledge with a quiz. Share your score with your accountability partner and in the comments below — I’ll be in there too, cheering you on.
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An often-overlooked part of the body may reveal important clues about overall health.
Researchers from the University of Westminster in the U.K. discovered that the shape of the gluteus maximus muscle in the buttocks changes with age, gender, lifestyle and frailty, as well as certain conditions like osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes.
Using advanced MRI scans that create 3D images, researchers revealed “distinct” patterns in the gluteus maximus associated with type 2 diabetes.
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This suggested that the shape of the muscle, rather than the size, may “reflect underlying metabolic differences,” a press release stated.
The findings were presented in December at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago.
Butt shape may indicate underlying health conditions, according to new research. (iStock)
Unlike previous studies looking at muscle size or fat, the 3D imaging identified exactly where the muscle changes occur, according to the researchers.
As one of the largest muscles in the human body, the gluteus maximus “plays a key role” in metabolic health, according to lead study author E. Louise Thomas, Ph.D., professor of metabolic imaging at the University of Westminster’s School of Life Sciences.
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The researchers analyzed more than 61,000 MRI scans from a large UK health database to better understand the muscle’s structure.
The data also included the participants’ physical measurements, demographics, disease biomarkers, medical history and lifestyle habits. The researchers studied how these variables were linked to muscle shape over time.
An infographic from the Radiological Society of North America presentation displays research findings on the shape of the gluteus maximus. (RSNA)
“People with higher fitness, as measured by vigorous physical activity and hand grip strength, had a greater gluteus maximus shape, while aging, frailty and long sitting times were linked to muscle thinning,” study co-author Marjola Thanaj, Ph.D., a senior research fellow at the University of Westminster’s Research Centre for Optimal Health, said in the release.
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The researchers concluded that butt shape changes may indicate an “early functional decline” and “metabolic compromise” in type 2 diabetes patients.
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Men with type 2 diabetes showed muscle shrinkage, while women displayed enlarged muscle, likely due to “infiltration of fat” within it, according to the researchers.
These results suggest that men and women have “very different biological responses to the same disease,” Thanaj suggested.
Butt shape changes may indicate an “early functional decline” and “metabolic compromise” in type 2 diabetes patients. (iStock)
Men who were categorized as “frail” were recognized as having more “general shrinkage” across the gluteus maximus, but women experienced a “limited” frailty effect.
Building strong glutes for better health
Strengthening the glutes is an “investment in long-term health,” according to Tanya Becker, co-founder of Physique 57 in New York City.
“While full-body strength training is essential, focusing on your glutes — the largest muscle group in your body — deserves special attention,” she told Fox News Digital.
“While full-body strength training is essential, focusing on your glutes — the largest muscle group in your body — deserves special attention.” (iStock)
Becker refers to the glutes as the body’s “shock absorbers,” because they protect the lower back, knees and hips from taking on stress they weren’t designed to handle.
Larger muscle groups also burn more calories and help regulate blood sugar, the expert added, noting that muscles are often referred to as the “organ of longevity.”
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Strengthening the glutes also helps to protect the lower back, hips and knees, and also improves posture and balance, reducing the risk of falls and improving mobility.
“People with higher fitness, as measured by vigorous physical activity and hand grip strength, had a greater gluteus maximus shape.”
Becker recommends traditional weighted exercises like squats, lunges and bridges, although they are not suited for everyone, especially older adults with injuries and joint pain.
“Pilates and barre classes offer bodyweight exercises that are ideal for beginners or individuals with physical limitations,” she suggested. “They can be done anytime, anywhere, making them accessible for beginners before progressing to weighted versions.”
Glute bridges (demonstrated above) are a recommended exercise for strengthening those muscles. (iStock)
Becker shared the following three glute exercises that improve hip mobility, stability and overall strength.
No. 1: Quadruped leg lifts (strengthens entire core and glutes)
Start on the hands and knees, engage your core, and lift one leg off the floor (bent or straight). Pulse up and down a few inches for 30 to 60 seconds, then repeat on the other leg.
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No. 2: Clamshells (strengthens gluteus medius)
Lie on your side with knees bent at 90 degrees in front of you. Lift your top knee away from your bottom knee, then lower slowly.
For an increased challenge, lift both feet off the ground while keeping the heels together. Repeat for 30 to 60 seconds per side.
Strong muscles are responsible for maintaining metabolic health, according to Becker. (iStock)
No. 3: Glute bridges (strengthens lower back and glutes)
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet parallel, a few inches from your hips. Engage your abs, and squeeze your glutes to lift your hips toward knee height, then lower.
If you feel pressure in your neck, you’ve lifted too high. Perform for 30 to 60 seconds. Complete three sets with 30-second rests between them.
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Those looking to start a new fitness routine should first consult with a doctor.
Fox News Digital reached out to the study authors for comment.
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What if your New Year’s resolution could fit inside a tote bag? Social media users are trying the “analog bag” trend, replacing phones with offline activities.
The trend is widely credited to TikTok creator Sierra Campbell, who posted about her own analog bag — containing a crossword book, portable watercolor set, Polaroid camera, planner and knitting supplies — and encouraged followers to make their own.
Her video prompted many others to share their own versions, with items like magazines, decks of cards, paints, needlepoint and puzzle books.
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“I made a bag of non-digital activities to occupy my hands instead of the phone,” said Campbell, adding that the practice has significantly cut her screen time and filled her life with “creative and communal pursuits that don’t include doom-scrolling.”
“I created the analog bag after learning the only way to change a habit is to replace it with another,” she told Fox News Digital.
Social media users are trying the “analog bag” trend, replacing phones with offline activities like cameras, notebooks and magazines. (Fox News Digital)
The science of healthier habits
Research on habit formation supports the idea of the analog bag, according to Dr. Daniel Amen, a California-based psychiatrist and founder of Amen Clinics.
“Your brain is a creature of habit,” Amen said during an interview with Fox News Digital. “Neurons that fire together wire together, meaning that every time you repeat a behavior, whether it’s good or bad, you strengthen the neural pathways that make it easier to do it again.”
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Studies show that habits are automatic responses to specific cues — such as boredom, stress or idle time — that typically deliver some kind of reward, according to the doctor. When no alternative behavior is available, people tend to fall back on the same routine, often without realizing it.
Research suggests that replacing an old habit with a new one tied to the same cue is more effective than trying to suppress the behavior altogether.
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“[When] cutting out coffee — you need to have another drink to grab for, not just quit cold turkey. It’s how the pathways in our brains work,” Campbell said.
By substituting a different routine that still provides stimulation and engagement, people can gradually weaken the original habit and build a new automatic response.
Substituting another activity instead of scrolling on your phone can help quell the impulse to reach for it. (iStock)
“Simply stopping a behavior is very challenging,” Amen said. “Replacing one habit with something that is better for your brain is much easier. That’s how lasting change happens, one step at a time.”
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If alternatives are within arm’s reach, people will be more likely to use them, the doctor said. “Your brain does much better with small, simple actions than big, vague intentions.”
Instead of saying, “I’ll stop scrolling today,” the doctor recommends choosing a small habit you can do in a few moments in specific situations, like knitting 10 rows of a scarf on your commute or reading a few pages of a book while waiting at the doctor’s office.
“If alternatives are within arm’s reach, you’re more likely to use them,” a brain doctor said. “Your brain does much better with small, simple actions than big, vague intentions.” (iStock)
Campbell shared her own examples of how to use an analog bag. At a coffee shop with friends, she said, she might pull out a crossword puzzle and ask others to help with answers when the conversation lulls.
Instead of taking dozens of photos on her phone, she uses an instant camera, which limits shots and encourages more intentional moments.
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In casual outdoor settings, such as a park or winery, she brings a small watercolor set for a quick creative outlet.
“It’s brought so much joy,” Campbell said of the analog bag trend, “seeing how it resonates with so many.”
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