Scars

Scars can tell a lot about an individual:  What our childhood was like (clumsy toddlers will have more scars than others), or the hardships we have overcome (injuries/surgeries/battle wounds).  People can have emotional scars too related to personal misfortune or an unpleasant experience.

I can look at a patient and know what surgeries he or she has had:  Knee replacement, kidney transplant, CABG, gunshot wound, cholecystectomy...I'm pretty lucky as I have very few scars, besides the scar on my forehead that happened while vacationing in Minnesota.  I battled a swing my cousin was swinging on and lost.  Surprisingly, I've had three surgeries and not a single scar to show for them!  When I met Justin, he had two prominent scars.  One on his lower back from a cyst that was removed when he was younger, and a second on his leg.  The latter he received from a chair, (you'll have to ask him the story behind that).  Over the years, he has accumulated new scars.  His elbow scar from surgery nearly 4 years ago, his leg scar from the melanoma (which you can hardly see now!), scars from his lympadenectomy and his two laproscopic surgeries (luckily, they used the same incisions). 

Alena has been able to skate by without any major injuries or scars.  Poor Caleb now has three new scars from his recent surgery.  At least they aren't on his face!  He was such a trooper before going back for surgery, even though it was way past his breakfast time.  He didn't make a peep when the nurse took him back to the OR.  The surgery took a little longer than normal and we learned he has the same reaction to anesthesia as his mommy does.  Hopefully his scars will gradually fade as he gets bigger and their won't be any lasting emotional scars from this experience!