
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 20, 1995                   TAG: 9511200118
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SUSAN GOLDSMITH LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

FOR 7 YEARS, CHELSEY COULDN'T SMILE ...

A RARE NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER gives her a stony face; a nerve transplant Tuesday will be her first step toward showing emotion.

As she packs for her big day Tuesday, Chelsey Thomas has made sure to save room for her favorite doll, a reminder of good things to come.

``Her name is Sara, and she has brown hair, blue eyes and a big smile,'' she said. ``I look at Sara, and I think pretty soon I'm going to look like her because I'm going to be able to smile.''

For 7-year-old Chelsey, it will be the first time ever.

Afflicted with a rare neurological disorder that results in facial paralysis, the Palmdale girl on Tuesday will undergo the first part of a $70,000 surgical procedure that will enable her to show facial emotion.

Chelsey is one of an estimated 500 to 1,000 people nationwide afflicted with Moebius syndrome - a condition in which the nerves are missing that transmit commands from the brain to the facial muscles.

For Chelsey, Moebius has meant her emotions are trapped behind a stony face, making it nearly impossible for her to communicate happiness and joy, she said.

``People don't understand when I'm happy, and I want them to,'' said Chelsey, an avid bike-racer. ``Kids always ask me why I can't smile, and I tell them I can't help it.''

Tired of enduring teasing by other children, the little girl convinced first her parents and then Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills to allow her to undergo the difficult procedure.

Kaiser is bringing in a renowned microvascular surgeon from Toronto, Dr. Ronald M. Zuker, to perform the operation.

The 16-hour two-part surgery involves transplanting a nerve from the face or another part of the body into the patient's cheek and connecting it to the principal zygomatic major muscle - the muscle responsible for the smile.

Half of Chelsey's face will be worked on Tuesday in an eight-hour procedure - the other half in about six months, Kaiser officials said.

Chelsey admits to being a little nervous, but said, ``I haven't been able to smile since I was born. But after the surgery, I'm going to smile at all my friends and have a party.''

by CNB