Do you know anyone who has suffered from Bell's Palsy?

My niece, who contributes here occasionally on the name JoyBells, has just been diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. To look at her, you would think she had a stroke. One side of her face doesn’t move, while the other side is normal. The obvious difference here is she has completely normal brain function.
Since the diagnosis, several people have told me they knew someone who suffered from this, and they all had different timeframes to recovery. For some it was 4 months, for others, not at all.
Do you know someone who has gone thru this, and what was the recovery period?