Just over 7 weeks ago, I had my thyroid totally removed due to cancer, which has left a neat scar of about at the bottom of my throat. It has been interesting to note the different reactions I get.
8 Days after Surgery
Some people don’t even notice it….others go looking for it to see just what it looks like, and are usually quite surprised how small it actually is.
Others start talking of how I could wear a scarf or a thick necklaces to hide it. And how it will fade over time.
Four weeks after surgery
But the fact is, I am totally okay with it…I don’t feel the need to hide it, apart from the fact it is too tender to put anything near it let alone wrap a scarf or put a necklace over it. I am very comfortable with the fact that I have a scar, that it was due to an operation that needed to happen to save my life. Mine is only small, but it is there, and will remain so forever. It represents something I have faced and got through…and hopefully beaten.
My husband has a scar that runs right down his chest to his stomach due to a liver transplant….it is shaped in a reverse L. His view is the same….the scar is proof that he survived an almost fatal health experience and he is proud of it! We have had some fun making up stories about what could of caused it…something like a shark bit him and Jas’s liver was so horrible, the shark spat it out…I know…we have a weird sense of humour!
Not everyone who has been scarred in someway has the same outlook as us. It does depend a lot on what caused it, and the whole experience. For example, it would be hard for a teenager, going through that body conscious time, to be faced with having a scar, particularly as big as the one Jas has.
I read that some call their scars “Tattoos of Honour”…an interesting description, and one I can understand.
Neither of us chose to have them – life dealt us those cards.
But in some strange way, our scars are reminders that no matter what life seems to want to throw at us, we can be strong enough to get through it!
I wear my scar with pride!
7 Weeks after Surgery