My new t-shirt

This would sure come in handy. 

I wouldn't always wear it, but mostly would (when I didn't mind having a chat) so I guess I'd have to have a few in my wardrobe. 

I thought about this last week after a patient asked me about my face. The first one for a long, long time. I didn't mind, AT ALL. He was lovely. He started his question with "I'm going to ask you what everyone else is probably too scared to", so I knew what was coming and I appreciated his honesty. We had a good chat about it and it was no biggy.

It's was better than the time the checkout chick pretty much yelled "oh my God, what happened to you?" when I reached the front of what was still a long line behind me. For the record, I responded with "oh my God, what happened to your manners".

It's not that I don't want to tell patients. I simply don't bring it up because I'm there as their nurse and it's about them. It's not about me.

As for friends/neighbours/kinder mums/sales assistants/the postman/train drivers/passers by, etc) I don't have a problem with it. I'm sure they are incredibly curious. I understand this. I am too :) It's human nature. Understanding it makes it easier. 

Having an illness that you can see comes with it's disadvantages. You can't hide it and there is no pretending it's not there. A diabetic does not need to inject their insulin out in the open for example, but for those with any kind of deformity, it's like free for all public viewing. This is a fact, that's all there is to it. I had two choices - deal with it or not, and I think I made the right decision.

Anyone who has ever been pregnant or perhaps broken a leg will understand. "How did you break it" would have gotten old, kind of like the constant "when are you due?/boy or girl?/first child?" etc, etc, etc and then some.

The point of me talking about this? To share my view that getting over feeling hurt or worried, embarrassed or ashamed, is pretty much essential if you want to get through life as a happy person. My advice to anyone facing these challenges is to remember, always, that people are simply curious. 99% of the time, the average human is simply nosy. I can relate to this! 

There are two kinds of people who will ask about a face like mine. 1). Curious and concerned or 2). Curious and rude. If you're dealing with the former, just tell yourself that it's nice they care. If the latter, don't lose any sleep over it. Do you really care about what a person who isn't that nice thinks about you? Chances are they are living a pretty sad life anyway because let's face it, rude people don't generally have a lot of love in their life.