I usually go out with my friends every Saturday night. My husband is nice enough to allow me to have a regular night-out in spite of being a mother to two elementary kids and a part-time secretary. Most of my friends are already married women with kids of their own. We live in a small town so gathering around every week is pretty easy for us. We would usually spend time together in the local massage parlor, the hair salon or at times, even go drinking and singing in the nearby karaoke bar.

Most nights, mothers as we are, we often talk about very motherly topics: kids, husbands, our families, household problems and of course, the usual harmless gossip about people we know. In one of these nights, one of my friends opened up that there was something wrong with her daughter. Curious and concerned about it, we asked her what it was. She said that her daughter had something called Chronic Motor Tic Disorder. She said that it was a sickness that involves the muscles around the eyes, mouth and face. According to her, her daughter would, while speaking, move about her eyes and lips repeatedly and uncontrollably.

Doing a bit of research about it, I found out that what my friend’s daughter had was quite rare. Two facts about facial tics: it often occurs in boys and it is usually short-lived. In my friend’s case, her daughter has had it for almost a year already. That was why my friend was distraught! She said that the sporadic repeated movements become more frequent when her daughter is stressed. The doctors suggested some kind of medication but she does not want to subject the girl to it because of the possible side effects and because the medication available was not a direct cure.

My heart goes out to my friend’s little girl because of her condition. I know that there is still a possibility that it will disappear and that it is a good thing that she has a loving family, but still I do not forget to always say prayers for them.