On January 23rd, 2012 I was involved in a serious car wreck. I was not wearing my seat belt, and because of this fact, I was ejected from my vehicle. After the wreck an x-ray technician asked me what happened and I told her I was in a bad car accident. She responded by saying, â??Well at least you were wearing your seat belt.â?? Confused I asked, â??Why do you assume I was wearing a seat belt because, in actuality, I was not.â?? She explained that in the ICU when a car accident victim has a messed-up or severely battered face itâ??s a sure sign that they werenâ??t wearing their seat belt. In my case, my face only appeared to have a few cuts, so she assumed I was wearing my safety belt.
Many people who have seen me after my accident have reacted similarly. They presume I was involved in a mere fender bender, but the truth is I was in bad shape and had to stay in the hospital for 3 weeks. Dr. Prichard had to reconstruct various parts of my face, carefully close many deep wounds, and apply a skin graft to my leg. The miracle is that before Dr. Prichard operated on me, my face and leg looked like I would have to adapt to living the rest of my life disfigured. Actually, when I see pictures of myself from before Dr. Prichardâ??s operation I canâ??t believe that person is me. I often ask myself, â??How can I have gotten away so lucky?â?? Iâ??m very grateful â?¦I thank God that Dr. Prichard was the one who operated on me. He gave me a second chance to live a normal life filled with every possibility I had prior to the wreck, despite a life changing mistake I had made. ~Melissa~
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