Conversations with Libby Perrington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Libby Perrington.  

Hi Libby, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts at the age of 6 when I was first diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. Bell’s palsy is a facial paralysis that caused the left side of my face to be paralyzed. This is supposed to be a temporary condition lasting anywhere from two weeks to six months. Mine, however, did not go away. The ages of 6 to 14 were filled with countless doctors’ appointments trying to figure out what was going on and why this wasn’t going away. Roadblock after roadblock, we finally just would say “That’s life with libby ” accepting everything as it came, good and bad. 

We finally came to the conclusion that the nerve and muscle fibers in the left side of my face were “dead” and probably would never move again without major surgery. 

So, it was the summer before my freshman year of high school we scheduled my first facial reconstruction surgery. This surgery took place at the University of Michigan. My first surgery was what they call a nerve graft. They took a nerve from the back of my right calf, about 19 inches long, and put it in my face. Staring on my right ear, docking under my nose and up to my left ear. The surgery itself took hours, but the recovery was months. The following summer I had my second surgery, this time they took a muscle from my left inner thigh and placed it on the left side of my face. Attaching the nerve from the summer before so that when my brain sends a signal to the right side, it shoots across that new nerve and moves the muscle. Modern medicine is pretty dang cool. I will forever be grateful for my team of doctors at the u of m for all they did for me and my condition. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Oh it has not been a smooth road. I feel like I was fighting an uphill battle my whole life. I went years and years hating the way I looked. Looking back on it now as an adult, I had a lot of fake self-confidence and I looked for validation everywhere else I could find it. I had a really hard time truly loving who I was, and in full transparency, it hasn’t been until the last few years that I have really truly fallen in love with who I am as a person and who God made me to be. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well, I wear a lot of different hats, which I love. I think at a young age most people are told to pick a career and then do that for the rest of their lives. I believe that life can be so multifaceted. However, I am definitely the most passionate about mindset and motivation. I believe that my struggles lead me to this incredible life that I live and I think if we can all look at the “roadblocks” God puts in front of us as growing opportunities they don’t look as awful. And then you are able to walk through the hard season knowing that you can handle whatever is being thrown at you. And with that, I have a podcast, I am a certified mindset and career coach as well as getting more into motivational speaking. I think I’m most proud of “Life with Libby” the brand as a whole. I mean the fact that it was something we used to say when things wouldn’t go exactly how we planned, and now I help others do that is such a blessing, and I’m just so grateful. I think what sets me apart is I am a very no BS kinda gal. I will call you out on your crap, but I do it from a place of love because I want everyone to show up and walk in their God-given purpose. And that isn’t always easy, but having someone like me there in your corner cheering you on while encouraging you to do the hard things makes all the difference. 

I also recently did a merch launch with 3 hoodies. One says “Nobody cares work harder” It’s very blunt but I really truly believe that you can achieve anything with hard work. I think today we live in a world where most people want things handed to them, and I can tell you right now I didn’t become the person I am because things were handed to me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. When you work hard for things, the accomplishment feels so much better, in my opinion, it also taps into the fact that, really, everyone has a sad story, and you can either use that as an excuse not to chase your dreams or fuel to the fire to run passionately towards the life you want. The second hoodie says, “Know your worth” I have struggled with finding validation in others for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until I started my bodybuilding journey that I really found myself and who God made me to be, my hope is that others will find their true worth within themselves and who God created them to me and that they TRULY truly know their worth. The third hoodie has a smiley face on it with two different eyes. With my bell’s palsy, my eyes are two different shapes, so it’s a representation of me and my smile. I have had Bell’s Palsy for 20 years now, I spent most of those years hating my smile, hating my face, wishing things were different, wishing my face was symmetrical. And now I wear this hoodie with so much joy because I have accepted my “flaws” and love everything about them, knowing that God gave them to me with purpose. 

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
God. Really and truly, as cheesy as that sounds, I would not be where I am at without the strength and grace of God. Which is so crazy because when I was in high school, at the peak of my Bell’s palsy struggle, I didn’t believe in God at all. And now I see that this was all part of his plan for me and my life, and I’m just so grateful that this is the life I live. 

I also have some INCREDIBLE mentors. Stef, Heather, and Jess. They have all taken me under their wing and continue to lift me up, give me guidance and be my biggest fans on this journey. I think we live in a society where women in the same industry don’t always do what’s best to help others, and that was not the case with these women. There is room for all of us to be successful, and they really showed that to me. I can only hope to grow up to be half the women they are one day. I really truly look up to all of them so much, and I wouldn’t be where I’m at in my career without them. 

I also would not be where I am without the love and support of my mom and Nana. The three of us went through my whole bell’s palsy journey together. They have been so supportive of all the adventures I take on. I love them both so much and there really aren’t enough words to describe how much they mean to me.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @lifewithlibby._