So I’ve been thinking about what to say in this blog since I first saw Connie Culp’s interview with Dianne Sawyer. The only thing that I could think about for the duration of the interview was “wow, what a truly inspirational person.” If you are not familiar with Connie Culp, she was the first American to receive a face transplant, after her husband shot her in the face with a shotgun, and then turned the gun on himself. He survived and is now in jail. As you can imagine, after being shot close-range in the face with a shotgun Connie’s face was dramatically damaged. I won’t go into specific details, but know that her face was disfigured very badly. After 25+ surgeries Connie received a new face via transplant from a donor. I will be truthfully honest, she still looks slightly out of the ordinary; but, her doctors told her it would take some time before the full effects of the surgery would be realized. Once all the swelling goes down, and they have the ability to remove the extra skin she will look perfectly normal. Before the surgery she couldn’t smell, taste, or feel her face. After the surgery, she first smelled spearmint gum in the hospital, and then mouthwash at home.
What I couldn’t/can’t comprehend was her unwavering positivity, tenacity, gratitude, and forgiveness in spite of such a horrible tragedy. In the interview when speaking about her husband, she tells Dianne Sawyer “I forgave him the day he did it” then she added “I had to.” What kind of a human is able to forgive the person who just shot them in the face forever disfiguring them? She also decided very shortly after the incident, that “I want to be positive. I want to move on. That's what I said," she said. "Everything's going to be great from here on out. It's going to be good." She even made it a point to publicly thank not only the doctors participating in the two-day - 22 hour surgery, but also the individual/family that made a new face available to her by donation. What a truly amazing individual she is. It really makes me examine my own life, which I rarely do, because upon self-reflection, the things I complain and worry about in my life are so small and petty in the grand scheme of things. I have been blessed with a perfect life - my family and I all have our health, happiness, and prosperity. I feel like there is so much that we can learn from Connie, she is truly an inspirational person.
What I couldn’t/can’t comprehend was her unwavering positivity, tenacity, gratitude, and forgiveness in spite of such a horrible tragedy. In the interview when speaking about her husband, she tells Dianne Sawyer “I forgave him the day he did it” then she added “I had to.” What kind of a human is able to forgive the person who just shot them in the face forever disfiguring them? She also decided very shortly after the incident, that “I want to be positive. I want to move on. That's what I said," she said. "Everything's going to be great from here on out. It's going to be good." She even made it a point to publicly thank not only the doctors participating in the two-day - 22 hour surgery, but also the individual/family that made a new face available to her by donation. What a truly amazing individual she is. It really makes me examine my own life, which I rarely do, because upon self-reflection, the things I complain and worry about in my life are so small and petty in the grand scheme of things. I have been blessed with a perfect life - my family and I all have our health, happiness, and prosperity. I feel like there is so much that we can learn from Connie, she is truly an inspirational person.
This reminds me of Face Off. I wonder if she still looks like herself...because you could argue that her bone structure was probably mostly unchanged. Very interesting...I would love to see a before/after, when she's healed.
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