Grace

At the hospital today I came across a patient suffering from a rare, congenital flesh-eating disorder that had completely disfigured her face and was beginning to ravage her arms and legs. In fact, the word ‘suffering’ doesn’t begin to convey what this person experiences as a result of the disease.

She has lost all her hair; her scalp is covered by what looks like scar tissue. The flesh of her ears have basically disappeared, save for the suggestion of an upper ear just above her canal. Her right eyelid can no longer close, and she has gone blind on that side; the immobile eye just stares emptily into the distance. Her left eye is beginning to do the same. She was thickly bandaged about the forehead and cheeks, and on her arms and legs were awful sores that hinted at what lay beneath those bandages. It seemed that movement of any kind caused her a great deal of pain.

I don’t know whether her condition is treatable. I can’t imagine that, if it is treatable, she would have let it get so far out of control before seeking medical attention.

I had a profoundly visceral reaction to seeing her in that condition, and it continues even as I type. Her plight is unimaginable, the stuff of nightmares, yet she was dealing with it. Even in her state of perpetual and extreme discomfort, she was gentle and very appreciative of all the medical personnel helping her. I am humbled by the strength she shows just to survive each day, knowing what she will have to endure the next.