Chapter 10: To Do Or Not To Do.
Every day for the next week Clarence woke up looking at himself. It was an unusual way of doing things. For a while it worried Alan and his parents but Clarence would not let the mirror leave his room. He watched every inched of his face as it healed. He noted that it didn't take very long for the bruises on his legs to disappear. He was fascinated by the stitches on the two larger cuts. He dreaded the day when they would have to be removed but when he asked when they would be, he was told that the stitches would simple dissolve, and so they did. Every day bits of stitches just disappeared until there was nothing left.
Clarence began to move around his small room. He was determined to be independent, and that meant being able to wash himself. And being able to wash himself meant walking out of his room and through the ward to the shower. For his first venture out he chose a Sunday morning when the ward was at its quietest. Whit his towel in hand he stood by the door taking deep breaths. He opened the door slowly, stepped through and turned back to close it. Then he turned to see the ward. Most of people were asleep, some were reading newspapers and a couple just seemed to be looking at Clarence just looked away. Clarence was relieved. Of course, he thought, why should they find me so odd, they are all burns victims themselves, I am on a Burns Unit. Now it was him doing all the staring. As he walked down the ward he began to look at other people's injuries. A few people didn't look like they had injuries at all but Clarence knew these people probably had burns on their bodies. For Clarence this didn't gave him a second look and by the time he'd reached at the end of the ward he wanted to walk back just for fun of it. Soon Clarence was showering or going for walks on the ward anytime he felt like it Being seen by other people got easier each time.
Clarence's parents still visited him every day and every couple of days Sophie, Jeff and Sumo would visit. This visit by his friends were the most difficult. Jeff and Sumo always had very little to say; they never spoke about the events surrounding the crash now unless they were quoting newspapers. Although Sophie was polite and helpful, Clarence spent very little time alone with her.
As the days went by Clarence began to feel more at home in his room, the football posters and creature comforts had helped and he was beginning to develop a real appreciation of rap music. Sophie brought him new tapes with every visit and Clarence's headphones were now usually found on his head. The front of his hair was beginning to grow back and with the help of the hospital's visiting barber, he had the rest of his hair cut short so that the new growth would not be so obvious. His face was not really healing but settling down. The extremely red parts and the extremely white parts were trying to find their natural colour but the damage to the contours of his face stayed the same. One of his mother's main concerns had gone: He was now eating anything that was put in front of him.
On the morning of Clarence's sixteenth day in hospital Dr Owens and Nurse Ling entered the room just as he was finishing his breakfast. Clarence had picked up a new skill. He knew the hospital staff so well that he could tell what mode they were in by the looks on their faces and the way they entered the room. He could tell routine visits from progress reports, or how are you doing visits from We need to talk visits. He could see this was a We need to talk visit. Dr Owens sat on the seat in front of Clarence. Clarence sat up in his bed.
-Hello-
-Hello, Clarence-Dr Owens replied-How are you today?-
-I'm OK, Doctor-
-Clarence, I need to talk to you about where we go from here. As you can see, the injuries to your face are not disappearing but you are feeling less discomfort now, aren't you?-
-Yes-
-The swelling around your lips and eyes has gone down considerably and you are beginning to have more control over your facial muscles now-
-That's right-Clarence knew what was coming.
-Well, I think it's time for us to consider a bit of physical reconstruction, or plastic surgery-
-Will you really use plastic?-
-No, we never really use plastic and anyway in case physical reconstruction is probably too strong a term. Because you have no problems with your bones and I shall be trying to do is to give your face a smoother look. I think we can get rid of some of those rough edges. Now let me tell you how I plan to do this. I want to use and autograft…That meants a skin graft taken from another part of your body and grafted on to your face-
-Hang on a minute-Clarence interjected-Where will the skin come from?-
-Well, I suggest we take some of one of your thighs. The skin at the top of your thighs is perfectly all right and I only need a small amount. I need to do two grafts, one on your right cheek and one on your forehead-
Clarence was listening carefully to everything she had to say. He knew how important this was and he wanted to make sure that he understood everything. –Will you be doing this operation, then, or someone else?-He asked.
-I'll be doing it. I'll have my team of course but I'll be doing the actual surgery. Now, Clarence, you can say no…after all, this is basically a cosmetic operation. You can decide to do without any surgery at all, because this is about you. You have the ultimate decision what to do or not to do and only you can truly decide what is a presentable face for you-
There was a long silence before Clarence uttered. –Heavy, man-
Dr Owens stood up. –I will be speaking with your parents soon, so think things over and I'll talk to you later. It may sound heavy but it's just that I want you to take as much control as you can. You are the boss-
Nurse Ling removed Clarence's food trolley and they both left the room, leaving Clarence alone with his thoughts once more. Clarence spent that morning in silence, thinking about what was to come and periodically looking at himself in the mirror. Time passed and at around midday Dr Owens and both his parents entered the room. His stepfather was carrying a Bowl full of grapes, peaches and bananas and his mother carried a vase of flowers.
-Hello, Mom, hello, Chad. Put the fruit on the table and I'll eat the flowers now-
His mother smiled, the doctor raised an eyebrow as in only slightly amused and his stepfather said, -That's very funny- as he put the fruit on the table which was now beginning to look like a fruit stall at a market.
His mother bother passed him the flowers and he barely managed to find space for them on the table.
-So what do you think about the operation, son?-his stepfather asked.-We think it's the best, how about you?-
Clarence paused for a moment. –What can go wrong?-
-The only thing that I'm worried about is infection. There is a slight risk but because it's your own skin, the chances of that are extremely low-said Dr Owens.
Clarence picked up the mirror and looked at himself as he spoke. –When would you do the operation?-
-I can do it any time-Dr Owens replied-but you should have a day or so to get used to the idea-
-Will there be a big difference in the way I look?-
-Well, it's hard to say-Dr Owens said while looking into Clarence's face.-The colour of your skin will even out and you should lose some of the roughness, but we can never tell how big the difference will be. There will be an improvement, though-
-OK-Clarence said, -Let's do it-
There was a sigh of relief from his parents and the doctor began to explain the procedure to Clarence. Skin was taken from his right thigh. He would given a general anesthetic which would mean that he wouldn't see or feel a thing until after the operation. Dr Owens also explained that in her opinion he didn't need too much skin grafting and that maybe one operation would do. She told Clarence that some people just keep that they will end up with what they think others think is a normal face. She thought this was an unhealthy attitude.
-Whatever you decide-she said, -This will be a testing time for you-
Oke.
It's not the last chapter but I need to tell us that I will start the orientation week in my school and I need to study a lot to pass my December Exams.
So...Please be patient and wait for the next chapter :D I hope you will like it soon
That's all I want to tell us and please, please leave a review TTwTT you will make me happy.
See you Later!
N3k00-Ch4N