Meet the woman born with a one in four million condition which means she can’t smile.
Tayla Clement, 24, from Christchurch, New Zealand, has spent her entire life unable to move her eyes from left to right, raise her eyebrows or her upper lip due to Moebius syndrome.
She was born with the condition, which is characterised by weakening or paralysis of muscles in the face used to control expression and eye movements.
The neurological disorder has no cure but the symptoms can be treated.
“It’s not always been easy,” Tayla, who has 23,900 followers on Instagram, told Jam Press.
“I’ve spent many years hating my smile, wishing I had a ‘normal’ smile, wishing I just didn’t exist because that seemed easier than being alive, but by some miracle, I’m still here.
“I now know I was born to stand out.
“I was born to make a difference in this world and I know that whole-heartedly.
“My syndrome and not being able to smile is the greatest gift I could have ever been given, it has allowed me to already help and inspire so many people.”
Tayla underwent facial reanimation surgery aged 12 in the hope of restoring voluntary movement in her face.
The corrective procedure – often referred to as a ‘smile operation’ – saw doctors transplant soft tissue from her thigh to both sides of her face, in a bid to grant her the ability to clench her mouth to mimic a smile.
But the eight-hour procedure was unsuccessful and left devastated Tayla with a completely swollen and bruised face.
Her condition saw her bullied throughout her time at school – where she was called “ugly” on a daily basis and claims to have had sheep poo thrown at her.
The experiences saw her diagnosed with severe clinical depression and anxiety with PTSD and dissociative attacks at the age of 18.
Tayla said: “Things really began to get worse. I had to go back and start a new school with a really swollen face.
“I got laughed at. Kids would scream in my face and say that they were scared of me but then would run away laughing, I felt super isolated.
“Then people started to pretend they didn’t know me.”
On one occasion, Tayla’s mum saw her sitting alone at school but the then teenager felt she had to hide the truth from her family.
She said: “She asked where my friends were and I told her that they were coming and that they were just late.
“I lied because people would also tell me that my parents didn’t love me or that I was a mistake.
“I didn’t want to be a burden on my family because I thought what these people were telling me was true.”
Even when she did make friends, Tayla says people would try to discourage them by telling them she was disgusting or ugly.
She said: “After you get told that a couple of times it gets drilled into your memory.
“Even the teachers treated me differently.
“I would be the only person with my hand up in class and the teacher would just look at me and then look away and not pick me to ask a question.
“The list goes on but I also had sheep poo thrown at me, would be rushed down hills, have my bag emptied on the floor.
“I even remember on my 16th birthday I turned up to school so excited because people would always bring the balloons and cake and food for whoever’s birthday it was in the group.
“I would always bring stuff for everyone else’s birthday so I was excited to be the centre of attention but when I turned up to school no one made a fuss about me.
“I was given a half-eaten block of chocolate.
“Everything that happened did play a lot on my self-confidence and my self-worth.”
Six months after the failed operation and relentless bullying, Tayla began to feel suicidal and was in and out of hospital in 2015/2016.
She attempted to take her life six times before she found exercise as a coping mechanism.
Having given up competitive swimming at 18 due to mental health issues, Tayla took the plunge back into fitness when she was contacted by Para-Athletics NZ.
The athlete – who also has a club foot as a result of her condition – was a natural.
Soon after, in February 2018, she was asked to compete in Melbourne.
She set a world #1 ranking throw at the Victorian State Championships in Melbourne – and a year later in March of 2019 competed at NZ Nationals and threw a distance of 8.28m, which broke the World Record in the F43 classification.
Now, the retired ex-Paralympic track and field athlete has taken to public speaking in a bid to share her journey with a facial deformity.
She is now happier than ever and also documents everything on her Instagram account for her 18,400 followers.
Tayla added: “I stand very firm on the fact that the operation not being successful was 100% a blessing and I’m so grateful for the operation not working because not being able to smile is the greatest gift I could have ever been given!
“Yes, it’s taken me right down to below rock bottom but it has given me the opportunity to be a face and voice of hope and inspiration for others.
“It has given me a platform to share my story to empower others and ultimately, given me a purpose for being on this earth.
“When I was going through my really high points and really low points I didn’t have anyone to look up to.
“I didn’t have anywhere to go to be inspired or listen to other people’s problems or hear them talking about what they had been through so openly.
“If I had I might have realised I’m not the only person going through that.
“To be a source of inspiration, empowerment and hope for others is so amazing.
“I truly believe everything happens for a reason, whether it be good, bad, or in between.
“Being able to inspire and empower others truly lights me up beyond words.”
