In my latest book, The Missing Piece, scars play a major role as both Clive and Keisha have one that tells more about their story than either of them are able to share. I thought I’d comprise my 10 Things by sharing the stories behind some of my scars.
The Missing Piece
The Scar on my Forehead – it’s not quite Harry Potter level, but I do have a scar that’s about an inch long that can only really be seen if I furrow my brow and a straight line appears. This is a childhood injury.
The Scar on my Chin – Another that can only be seen if you look for it because it was that long ago.
One of these first two scars was from when I went over the handlebars of a trike at playgroup. The other scar is from when I fell into an as yet unfilled pond in the garden. Both were before I was three. My mum claims she can’t remember which scar is from which incident and a bit like the character of Clive, the scars remain, but the memories do not.
The Mole Removal Scar – I used to have a mole right on the corner of my eye and when it started to grow, it had to be removed to make sure it wasn’t anything sinister. Thankfully it wasn’t.
The Chip Shop Scar – When I was at college I worked at the local chippie and unsurprisingly ended up with a small burn from the fat. It was only from a splash, but it turned out it had landed in my anatomical snuff box, which proved to be a useful mark when I was at university studying physiotherapy.
The Scar that delayed The Day that Changed Everything – In 2019 I had a small cyst that had to be removed from my armpit. Because of where it was it meant I needed a short break from writing, so the publication day for this book changed from November 2019 to January 2020. Little did I know that we’d all be facing a year that changed everything.
The Stretchmarks – I have growth stretch marks and tummy stretch marks from my twin pregnancy. Somehow I got to full term and my girls were 5lb 9oz and 6lb 11oz and I’m very proud of those stripes.
The Episiotomy Scar – If you don’t know what this is, you’ll find it in a giving birth guide. Enough said.
The C-section Scar – If the above wasn’t enough, my scar count went up quite significantly in the space of half an hour. Twin Two was in distress and it took quite a medical team to make sure she was okay. It was quite surreal to wake up having to ask one of the recovery nurses if she’d made it. I’m glad to say she did and has been a non-stop bundle of energy along with her sister ever since.
The Scar on my Calf - this was created after having a lump removed during a period where I was pretty poorly. Not long after qualifying as a physiotherapist, I developed a host of symptoms that made them think I might have Sarcoidosis. The main problem I have is Uveitis, an eye condition that I’ve lived with all my adult life. These new symptoms meant the medics were checking if the eye condition was caused by something else. The biopsy didn’t show anything, thankfully, but quite a few years later they still query if it’s the cause of my long-term eye condition.
The Narrowly-Avoided Scar – I think we all have these. The situations that could have been so much worse. The near misses. Maybe these ones teach us as much as the real ones. The one I’m going to share for this one, involved the biggest bruise I ever had after I got kicked by a New Forest Pony. It caught me on the side of the knee (I’d been lying down and scrambling to get up) and if the angle had been slightly different, it may have required a lot more than a bag of peas for my recovery. I had a dent, rather than a scar for quite some time afterwards.
So there is a potted history of my life via my scars. We all have them. And like Clive and Keisha, some offer happy memories, others are ones we’d like to forget.