All jokes aside, the French woman who received a new face has come out of hiding and has begun to face the media. It’s a good thing, too. Because now we can read about how she ended up with a new face and that once the thing took, she was able to start smoking again.
While I marvel at the fact that doctors have figured out a way to actually do this, this particular woman’s story (which I got wind of on Rachel Maddow’s show about a month ago) has made me mumble the phrase, “What the hell?” all too many times.
She took some sleeping pills after having a “rough week.” While nearly unconcious, she tripped and fell. She went down and then her dog chewed her face off. Now, the part that gets me every damn time is she didn’t realize she HAD NO FACE until she tried to light a cigarette. (Read here.)
ohmygod.
Anyway, she got a new face from a donor who actually succeeded in killing herself. (Sorry, that was uncalled for, the face transplant recipient woman hasn’t actually answered the question as to whether she was trying to kill herself.) The dog was put to sleep. She can now smoke again. I see her on Oprah within the year.
I don’t presume to know what this woman went through and continues to go through. But if I saw some chick smoking with a family member’s donated face, I think the phrase, “Bitch, gimme that face back!” might be in order.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11198533/
this pic is all your post is missing..
I can just imagine her waking up and thinking..”Hmm I’d love a cigarette..That’s odd. My lips must really be chapped!” And as far as her qoute about looking like a normal human being..uh.. I guess so..if everyone in the world was wearing a “Scream” mask.
I thought about putting up a picture of her. I did.
You know, everyone I talk about this story gives me the same response. “Well, she’s French.” What the hell does that mean?
This pisses me off to no end. I guess using a smoker as a guinea pig is better than using someone with self-respect and a long life ahead of them. The hospital stay can be seen as a warm-up for all the time she’ll spend battling lung and heart disease in the future. Her family gets practice for their inevitable anguish and frustration they’ll feel when her chosen illness ruins their lives. I guess it’s a win-win.
I dunno. I think if my dog chewed my face off, I definately want a cigarette. And maybe some heroin. Perhaps le rock de crack also.
If my dog chewed my face off, I’d assume I’d already had some heroin considering, well, I ain’t got no friggin’ dog.
How can someone NOT know their face is missing? Wow.
I guess people get new livers after drinking for years on end and the continue to drink. I suppose people receive new hearts and don’t excercise. But for some reason, the idea of using someone else’s face to smoke again, bugs me out a bit. I am not sure why.
I guess, should I ever be given a second chance like this, I’d wind up changing the parts of my life I consider to be unhealthy or run against my living life to the fullest.
And as I write this, i wonder why I don’t do this just because. Why need the second chance at all.
Oh, what a day.
definitely disturbing, no doubt
You have changed for the better, the healthier. You’re no calvo, but hell, who is?
I love it how her response to the criticism behind her starting to smoke again has been, “Well, I never quit smoking.”
I see. Good point. Hell, you didn’t even stop after YOUR FACE HAD BEEN CHEWED OFF BY A DOG!
“You’re no calvo, but hell, who is?”
raises hand
(for the record: I’m certainly not without room for improvement)
If you improve much more, you’ll glow. And then you might be seen as radioactive.
The thing that Im trying to figure out is why the dog ate her face in the first place. I remember reading a story about a kid who had that affliction where you can’t feel pain due to nerve damage and after eating a chili dog and falling asleep w/out washing his hands, his dog ate his fingers off. This makes me think maybe she:
1) had eaten something really delicious..
2) had a little bit of vomit on her lips..
3) still had some crack on those lips and the dog got hooked..
or 4) was a really mean person and the dog was just waiting for the right moment for revenge.
Ouch!
Zac, I had heard a few different reasons behind the dog eating her face.
1). The dog was a rescue dog and had been known to have a slight temper.
2). The dog was trying to revive/wake her up. There was still a discussion taking place that suggested that it had used its claws, trying to wake her up.
That’s all I know. :]
Dog = dead. So we can’t even go back and ask it in hopes of figuring out future dogs of its kind.
Look, I juz want to say that theez ez a big misunderstanding. She had juz eaten a chili dog. I will admit zat I juz wanteed a little taste. I accidentally bit off a little (miniscule really) part of her top leep. Zen I tried to feex ze bottom so that eet would match, and well, zese things have a way of, how you say, snowballeeng. Before I knew it things juz got out of control. Itz like you have a cake and you want a taste of ze frosteeng, but zen you can zee zat zomeone obviously stuck zeir finger in eet, zo you spread eet around and et juz looks worse and before you know eet, eets all messed up. You understand dont you?
Dead French Dog, some people think you chewed her face off in order to stop her from contaminating your healthy dog lungs with her second-hand smoke.
You failed, my friend.
Depending on just what “some sleeping pills” means, she could have been knocked out enough not to feel whatever happened, and depending on the extent of the nerve damage, her (lack of) face might not have hurt when she woke up. Nerve damage is a weird thing; I can stick pins in parts of my hand without feeling pain, but cat fur sometimes hurts like heck.
I can actualee take a bulleet to ze face right now and not feel eet.
and The Truth..what ze hell are you talkeng about? I was a pack a day smoker as well. Hello..im am a French dog….
Considering an article today in the NYT, people better start getting rid of their dogs especially French Bulldogs!
“About 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were filled last year, according to the research company IMS Health, up nearly 60 percent since 2000.”
Be afraid, be very, very afraid.
Nightmare on Elm Street, Part Dog.
Bwahaha. That cracked me up.
Your monologue was hilarious
Now—according to Grey’s Anatomy you can’t smoke when you get transplants becuase it screws up the blood flow. Which would make it die and fall off, wouldn’t it? shrugs
I had the exact same conversation with my wife last night and I think we decided that it’s best to to take medical advice from “Grey’s Anatomy”.
The doctors told the dumb woman not to smoke and that doing so increases the chance of rejection for the very same reason andrea mentioned.
BUT SHE’S FRENCH!
(it’s working for everyone else.)