Skip to main content

Major Transformation

It dawned on me today that some people have recognized that I look totally different and want to ask. So, for those that did not know how to ask, let me clear this up.

I am one of many people that have keloid scars. The medical definition of a keloid scar is:  Keloids are the excess growth of scar tissue at the site of a healed skin injury. In my family there were a few that had/have keloid scars. It was never determined why mine grew at such great lengths. The only conclusion that I have been able to draw is that I am allergic to milk. I am sure that may sound surprising but with the amount of hours that I have spent researching scars I have found that acne can cause keloid scarring. That was the only thing that made sense to me. My physicians I have never gone into the extent to do some major resarching and extensive lab work because I can handle the ones that are on my chest, shoulders, and my back. I have had some serious pain from these scars, but since relocating to Orlando they are not as bad.

However, the only one that I have ever sought treatment for is the one that was on the right side of my face. Before my surgery last year, the scar was measured at 11 inches from my right ear to the middle area under my chin and 7 inches across. I have had to endure many days where I would be in public and people would literally stop and stare  because I looked so different.  I have had people meet me and then say that they could not associate with me just because of my scar.  At the time I was like WOW, but deep down it really hurt like heck.
Now, I am free to go anywhere without people staring at me like I am a circus attraction.

What people fail to realize is that I am the same person that I was before my surgery. I can say that I am more self confident and have realized my true beauty with or without my scar.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Keloid Journey

My keloid scars have been a part of my life since I was about five years old. My earring got caught in a boy's sweater and he moved and yanked it right out. As I got older, more scars developed and never knew why or the cause. My childhood with scars was not an easy one because I looked so different than the other kids and they were not very nice to me. Middle school was rough because of PE... OMG, the girls were brutal and that made me very uncomfortable about changing clothes in front of other people. It did not make it easy to help the battle of the fluff. LOL! It was easier to cover them up. I cannot recall the exact time frame, but I recall two doctor's appointments. One was at Lackland AFB and the doctors did not know what my keloids were and wanted to do a biopsy. My dad did not like what he heard and scheduled another appointment with a dermatologist at Fort Sam. The treatment was to inject the scars and that was very painful. My dad could not see me going through t...

My Keloid Surgeries

Since I was about 14 or 15 I have had multiple surgeries to remove my keloids. They have not been easy surgeries and the recovery has been just as painful. In my recent post, I shared that I had to have a local anesthetic which was administered around each scar and when it wore off, the doctor had to stop the surgery just to administer more anesthesia. After the surgery, my chest was open and looked like a bowl of mashed potatoes is what was said. The aftercare was to keep the open wound clean with hydrogen peroxide. I did not manage very well and in my first after surgery appointment, the doc sat me in the chair, put gauze on my chest and just started pouring the hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound. Still to this day, I am unable to handle the sound and smell of peroxide.  My next surgery was on my face and a scar on my right shoulder. It was on the bra line and the health insurance company approved that part of the surgery but the doctor covered any related costs to remove t...

Valentine's Day

For the past few years I have had some anxiety about Valentine's Day. All of the advertising and marketing is meant for couples...well that didn't apply to me and I really didn't even want to hear about it. I wouldn't even go down the aisle with all of the candy, balloons, etc.  Friday night, there was a Sweetheart Banquet at my church and I volunteered to work the event.  I served as check-in and t-shirt/dvd sales. It was great to see all of the couples as they walked in the door to see how they were dressed.  Some couples coordinated their outfits and it was so cute. Every girl is crazy about a sharp dressed man and it was good to see them all dressed up in their suits and ties.  As they were getting their pictures taken, I was thinking to myself, how in the world am I going to survive being surrounded by all of these happy people when inside my heart is longing for someone to share my life with. I know that I am a complete person and don't need a man to complet...