The first inspiration came from one of the shooting victims in Colorado. As a form reporter, I've been watching all the coverage since the horrible incident occurred. On Saturday, they were interviewing one of the survivors in the hospital. The guys was commenting about how he may have been hit by several bullets, his scars will be forever reminders of how he survived and has a life to live.
My second inspirations came from my dad. Today as we were getting ready to head to the golf course, he asked me where I got the scar on my right shoulder. Surprised that he forgot, I reminded him that his demon beach tent attacked me when we were at the beach in April and that scar is still there.
So here are my new thoughts on scars - no, I still don't think chicks dig scars on their own bodies, but every scar tells a story of survival. They are the pictures you have to tell your testimony. While they can be reminders of extreme pain that you went through, they also are reminders that you survived and are now thriving.
Here are some of my scar stories (as I wrote this list I noticed that all of my scars are on my left side - strange!)
- I have a scar on my forehead near my left eye from when I had chicken poxs as a toddler. I must have really scratched that area.
-I have a line in the middle of my left arm when I burned myself on the oven trying to pull out some pizza when I was in middle school. It's hard to see this one in the summer as I tan.
-I've told you about the scar on my back from the psycho beach tent
-I have two small scars on my face (on in between my eyes and one just to the side of my left eye) that happened when I fainted in the bathroom right before I had my second surgery to put my skull back together. Those two are easily covered up with make-up
And then there are the two scars that started the original blog and I think tell the most dramatic story of my life
The first is the U-shaped scar on my left side of my head. This is where, on the early morning of Sept. 18, 2011, a team of amazing surgeon performed brain surgery to release pressure on my swelling brain to save my life.
Luckily, I have very think and fast-growing hair so the scar isn't noticeable. It took me while to even find an old picture where you can see it. You can kind of see it in the below picture that was taken probably a week after I got home from the hospital. I'm napping with my sweet little nephew, Tripp - who will turn one in August!!!
And then there is the "Frankenstein" looking scar on the left side of the stomach. This is where, in an amazing testimony to today's technology, those doctors stored the piece of skull flab they removed to help relieve pressure on my brain. Yes, I walked around with a portion of my skull in my stomach for about six months. No photos of this one, but I did strut around the beach in a bikini in April showing off my scar with pride!
Amazingly, both of those scars were reopened in February to put my skull piece back to where it belongs after my brain had healed. So in a way they are two-for-one scars.
I was angry when I wrote the first blog because I thought these scars were ugly. But now I have other ideas. These two scars remind me of those brilliant surgeons, and how through it all, they were always all at the right place at the right time to save my life (a couple of times). They remind me of the hundreds of people who were interceding on my behalf, calling out to God and praying without ceasing for his healing hand to come to my rescue. It reminds me of the crazy journey I went on the last year, and in some ways are still on. And they remind me that I have a testimony to share - a testimony of healing, a testimony of faith, a testimony of love, a testimony of overcoming fear, a testimony of the power of prayer, and testimony of how my body failed me many times the last year, but God never did.
So while I wish I didn't have all the scars on my body - I do realize the purpose they play and the stories they tell.
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