ONE OF THEIR STORIES

This is a story written by a young lady from the UK named Debbie; it is published on the website of Changing Faces, a terrific organization based there which works tirelessly to promote acceptance and awareness of those with physical/facial differences, and to prevent discrimination against them.  Here is Debbie's story:

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I was born with congenital facial disfigurement treated by various plastic surgeons. Contrary to popular belief, plastic surgery doesn’t always work miracles. I was left even more scarred after I had remedial treatment.

My condition makes me stand out but it’s been a part of me for such a long time that at the age of 45 years, I’ve learnt to ignore any stares.  Being partially sighted has been a bonus as it means that I also don’t really notice.  My two children are very protective of me as is my husband.  Their support makes me want to be even stronger even when I’m feeling low.

Teenage years are difficult for the best of us, with any imperfections being exaggerated and used to ridicule us, so those with more prominent differences have more to contend with. That part of my life is shadowed in darkness but I was lucky to have my mum who has always been a great source of inner strength.

I didn’t hear about Changing Faces until I was 28 and went to one of their events at the New Norfolk Hotel, Birmingham run in conjunction with The Body Shop.  The workshop was very enlightening and made me aware that I am not alone, that there is support out there. Changing Faces has been instrumental and useful for me in my work life. Facial disfigurement became classed as a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995, making my career path a lot smoother that it would have been. Although I work in a “back of house job” I have been able to progress from Administrative Assistant to Administrative Executive. If I have faced any form of discrimination as a result of my disabilities it’s been very subtle.

To me, Changing Faces represents light in an otherwise, very dim world. With celebrity/sex being the prominent motivational force in our society we need to work extremely hard to find a counter-balance and Changing Faces helps to do this. They have a team of counsellors, psychologists, and school specialists who continuously support and equip people with the skills to handle everyday situations, and develop self-confidence.

Disfigurement could be hard to handle if you’ve never been faced with it, but you could learn how to cope by being more involved. Like an iceberg, my face is only a small part of me, don’t let it be the only thing you see about me.


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