Wounded Guys and Girls Tell Us the Stories Behind Their Scars

 Blanca

“I was in a motorcycle accident 10 years ago with my dad whilst on holiday in Thailand. It was around 9pm and we were driving back from dinner, and a car coming from the opposite direction over took another care and came into our lane. My dad veered off to the left, so the car just hit us on our right sides. I broke my femur, which they say is as hard as concrete. I suffered cuts and grazes all over my skin, but luckily those didn’t scar - but my broken leg meant a long scar on my outer thigh. A couple of years later they also realised I had torn a knee ligament - I had surgery and came out with six new scars. Several years later they found yet another torn ligament on the side of my knee, so there was more surgery. I now have 8 scars along my leg, which I love, but since I have hypertonic scarring they’re all quite wide and evident. I remember the first time I wore a skirt after the accident, about 2cm of my scar was showing, and because of that, I didn’t even dare to wear it out. It took a couple of years to get used to the scars, for them to fade enough for me to forget about them. It doesn’t help much when people ask to feel them and then react with a grimace, and say “ew, that feels so gross.”. Slowly I’m starting to realise that they’re not there to make me hate what happened to me. The accident taught me a lot about patience and being thankful for what I have. I really thought I owed it to myself to fall in love with my scar just a little bit more. 10 years and 5 surgeries later, I do still feel the psychological and physical effects of the accident, but I don’t think I would change a thing.”