WARNING: Heavy Duty for a Monday Morning.
(sorry I have been meaning to post this for a while now)
I like to be honest on my blog and share a lot of my life.
I created this blog to mark a period in my life, so if I'm not honest, what's the point?
If in sharing my stories I manage to help/inspire anyone else then that's even better!
So what is this post about?
Well I went to see a Plastic Surgeon about three or four weeks ago.
Why? Well if any of you read my 11things post, you would recall that I was in a very serious car accident when I was 16. The main injury I suffered from this car accident was a laceration across the right side of my forehead. The laceration was from when my head hit the back of the driver's seat. I also had a hematoma in my brain, I was loosing a lot of blood and I needed to have surgery that night.
Prior to surgery, they say the cut was 26cm in length, by 3cm wide.
26 stitches later and an amazing doctor and it was a lot smaller.
I still vividly remember the morning I woke up after surgery, when I asked my mum how bad it was.
I was a 16year old girl in year 12, I'm sure I don't have to explain to you how much I stressed about how I looked.My mum asked me if I was ready to see my face.
She fished out a mirror from her bag, passed it to me and held my other hand before asking me if I was sure.I said yes and pulled the mirror up in front of my head, I looked at the person in the mirror and I didn't know who she was.
She wasn't me.
I had many bruises, blood shot eyes, a puffy face, a tube poking out on my forehead (used to drain excess blood) and a cut down one side of my face.I stared for a few minutes, then I put the mirror down, started to cry and nicknamed myself Frankenstein.
That was how I felt.
The whole time I was in the hospital, I could feel people look at me, they looked at me wondering what had happened to me and pittying me because it looked so awful.
I was told in the first 2years the scar would improve, but after that it would not change.
When I was first able to venture out of the house, I would not go to school or anywhere without a beanie or a bandanna on to cover my scar.
After 3 months, I progressed to wearing hats.
I wore hats so much, I once saw a girl from a year younger than me in High School (after leaving school) and she remarked, "I remember you, you use to wear hats everyday".
Teachers never asked me to take my hat off in class. They knew.
Over a year after the accident, I discovered that I could cut a side fringe and it would cover the scar. It was better, I was getting better but I would still freak out if anyone would mention that they could see my scar or if the wind would blow my hair up.
It wasn't until I was 21, 5years after my accident, that I would wear my hair completely up out to a bar, exposing my scar to the world. I remember I had decided it was time to face my fears and there was no better time to do that, then on a night where I knew I would have way too many drinks :)
I met my best friend at this party and I asked her, "notice anything different?", straight away she realised and gave me the biggest hug ever, saying how proud she was of me.
The first night with my hair up.
(Scar is on opposite side, against my friends head)
It has been 8 years, it has improved dramatically and this is how it currently looks with make-up on.
These days people see my scar almost everyday, I still get comments here and there, but I am better at dealing with it.
I know that you are probably looking at the photo above thinking I am being a drama queen, I have heard the same thing from many people, "you barely see it".
This I know, but the feelings associated with that scar, the black times, I don't want to see them in the mirror anymore.
I first went to a plastic surgeon a few years ago and was told all he could do was cut it into a bunch of smaller scars.
This wouldn't do and I was angry at the fact that they can make my boobs bigger, but not take away a scar that I didn't ask for.
I finally went back to a plastic surgeon recently.
I went and saw Dr. Banouti at Australia Plastic Surgery in Broadway.
He impressed me, he examined me thoroughly and gave me various options, ONLY after confirming exactly what my main concerns are (the uneven skin and my lowered brow).
For the uneven skin, the Doctor recommended surgery, where he will detach the scar tissue from the muscle and then insert fat from my stomach (I told him he could take lots!! haha) to plump up the skin. The stem cells in the fat will also improve the visibility of the scar.
Light Reading
- funnily enough, this girl use to be my next door neighbour.
For the drooping eyebrow, he suggested that I could have surgery or I could try botox first for only $120. A told me to try the botox and so I did.
Before Botox... sorry no make-up... GAH!!
You can see how much more lid you can see on the right eye.
I have to be honest, the botox lady reminded us of a duck and this frightened me.
Would I turn out like her? I sure hoped not.
She was lovely, but I couldn't help looking at her huge lips!
After walking out of the office
I bled a little from the botox and had a couple of minor bruises, but it really didn't hurt at all.
I had to do face exercises after for a few hours, to help the botox move around my face.
They say it can take up to 4 or 5 days to see the effects of Botox...
3 days after Botox
5 days after Botox
7 Days after botox
12 days after botox
As you can see the improvement in the eyebrow is noticeable, but it hasn't been HUGE, so I contacted Dr Banouti about getting the eyebrow lift done at the same time as the scar revision. I am currently waiting for a new quote.
This whole process is scary, but I think if something has been bothering you for a long time and you have the means, and they have the technology, then why not fix it?
Why should I continue to live with something I hate?
I will continue to keep you updated on my progress,.
If you have any experience with plastic surgery and have advice to offer, I would love to hear it.
xx
