Would Bell's Palsy be considered having a minor stroke?

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About a month ago, I mysteriously came down with a case of Bell's Palsy on the right side of my face. I couldn't close my right eye or blink and it kept watering up and twitching; my smile was crooked, my lip was numb, and I had pain behind my ear. I took myself to the emergency room because I thought I was having a stroke. I didn't know what else to do. Something was definitely wrong! Turns out the doctor says I probably had some kind of viral infection, akin to herpes simplex virus (cold sores, chicken pox, or shingles) that could had laid dormant in my body for years, and all of a sudden something triggered it and activated it. It ended up paralyzing my facial or seventh cranial nerve. The doctor gave me some steroids (prednisone) and antiviral medicine (acyclovir). I had to tape my eye shut for the first week at night, so that I could keep it from drying out, and to keep it safe from any irritants. I did some research online, and most of the cases showed that people do get over this. Sometimes it takes 4 to 6 weeks, and sometimes it takes a year or more. And then sometimes the person never gets better. I am slowly getting some of my facial movements back on the right side of my face, but I still can't lift my lip at all. I can blink and close my eye alright now, but I still get twitches in it sometimes. Maybe that is some of the muscles coming back to life. I still have a way to go, but at least it is not as bad as it was a month ago. Has anyone else ever had Bell's Palsy or knew someone that did? Did it get better? And how long did it take before you were back to normal?