On Tuesday, I posted a video online of a man talking about how he got his scar - he had to have a kidney transplant, and his mother gave him one of hers.
Every scar tells a story. I asked readers to send in stories about their scars, and how they got them. Here's some of the conversation, edited for space. You can see it all at http://ttomlinson.blogspot.com/2010/08/story-lunch-scars.html. Stop by and add your story.
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Have a small stab wound on my left hand from my sister and I attempting our own knife-throwing act. That was the last time Dad took us to the circus.
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Growing up on a cattle ranch, I've got a pretty rad collection: a thin slice diagonally across my back where a horse threw me into a barbed-wire fence, a rattlesnake bite on my right thigh, a long thin slice right up the middle of my shin, from barbed wire again, and a splotchy white patch on my lower back where a horse stepped on me and abraded the skin.
All of them have great stories behind them and I see them as battle scars. Those experiences, and the scars, have made me stronger. Esther
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I have one on the inside of my right thigh where my mother was cutting the hem of my blue jean shorts while I had them on. I was 12 or 13 and it hurt!!! Oh - forgot to mention it was with pinking shears, so the scar looks like an arrow! Peggy
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When I was 6, I was at my grandparents' farm when the chickens got out of the coop. I wanted to help my Granddaddy, so I got the pitchfork to shoo the chickens back to the coop (I had seen Granddaddy do it). Instead of bringing it down on the tip of the tail feathers, I jammed it into my foot.
That was a very interesting ride to the hospital - in the bed of a pickup with my Nana and Momma holding me and the pitchfork steady and Granddaddy driving as carefully as he could. I learned many years later that the doctor wanted to amputate my foot, but my family refused.
The now faint scar reminds me of how very much I've been loved. HipQuest
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I never had acne as a teen, but at the end of grad school, I developed a ferocious case on my face, arms, back, even my legs. For 20 years, it baffled dermatologists who prescribed everything. Then, the one doctor found the hormonal imbalance and got the cocktail right. My acne was gone in a week ... the scars remain. I know people look at them and wonder what disease I've survived. I know it looks that way to me. But it's just scars. I won the war. Anonymous
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Two scars, one on each leg just above the knees, I got from trying to catch a glass bowl that had slipped out of my shaking hands. I pinned the bowl between myself and a cabinet door. It broke and sliced my legs pretty good. My hands were shaking because it was 9-11-2001, and that's what I think about each time I look at those two scars. GibsonGirl45
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When I was a kid, my brother called me "lightbulb head" because my ears stuck out. Scarred me for life. Until one day I saw a photo taken from behind and thought, "uhh, my head really IS shaped like a lightbulb." So we're friends again. Gary Morland
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A sampling ...
Date: 1981 (?). Scar location: Inside of right calf. Cause: Excessive eagerness to climb barbed-wire fence to trespass and pet horses not belonging to principal. Provenance: Charlotte, N.C.
Date: 1983 (??). Scar location: Left thigh. Cause: Eating fail caused by uneven heating of frozen lasagna caused by early microwave technology, resulting in rubbery pasta catapulted onto flesh by fork. Provenance: Charlotte, N.C.
Date: 1989. Scar location: Right heel. Cause: Tequila-induced search for boyfriend's lost Teva while barefoot in mussel shell-ridden canal. Provenance: Emerald Isle, N.C.
Date: 1995 (?). Scar location: Left forearm. Cause: Snagged on branch while mountain biking at velocity witnesses claimed was near light speed (really!). Provenance: Tsali, Graham County, N.C.
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There are still a couple of scars visible on my face from the day when I was, oh, younger than 4 - hey, it was a long time ago - when my grandfather's dog and I met, turning the corner of the house from opposite directions. He was barking at the lawnmower, so his mouth was open, and well ... Actually, I was lucky. A little higher, I would have lost my eye and a little lower, he would have caught my throat.
They tell me the dog felt bad about it. Just Bill
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Got a scar on inside of left arm that was caused by a .22 rifle bullet that ricocheted of the gas tank of my Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. I was on the way to work up Highway 160 near 49 back in the day of 1973. Thought I was stung by a bee!! Boss man took me to ER. Cop showed up, started pulling on my arm looking for exit wound. None. Doc dug out the bullet, wrapped me up and boss took me back to work!! Crap. Ed
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I have a long scar, full of bumps and tissue where my breast used to be. Thanks to botched surgery and botched radiation there is no way to reconstruct that part of my body. So each night when I undress, I look at the monster I have become and realize that my romantic life is at an end.
I think of incompetent doctors, and insensitive morons who talk about breast cancer using phrases like "save the ta-tas." And I think of the friends who assure me that I can find fulfillment in my job and maybe do some volunteer work - which apparently is supposed to make up for being an untouchable for the rest of my life. That is MY comical, heartwarming scar story. Anonymous
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Each scar on our body does tell a story, but some of our deepest scars we keep inside. While some scars may reflect a cute story, some truly reflect life changing events. I have had 15 surgeries, including one for prostate cancer. I also am living with Parkinson's disease, but I cherish every day and thank God for my life.
Dear Anonymous blogger above, I know where you are coming from. My stepmother had two breast cancer surgeries and radiation that left her physically scarred as well. Her first surgery was over 12 years ago and she still is in some physical pain. But, she is glad to be alive and able to be with her children and grandchildren. I hope that as time passes your psychic pain will ease. I don't know you, but pray that you allow yourself to enjoy the comfort of the people around you. Richard London
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I have a scar on my left hand from petting a bull through a barbed wire fence. Need I say more? Barbara
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My 6-year-old son has a half-inch scar on his right cheek, the result of the crash c-section (almost without anesthesia!) that saved his life.
When the doc apologized for it (and the crooked, long c-section scar), I told him to think nothing of the wounds: "That was the cut that saved his life." Anonymous










