The Social Consequences of Facial Disfigurement by Michael J. Hughes

Author:Michael J. Hughes [Hughes, Michael J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138360198
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2020-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

Recovery

Christine Piff demonstrated nerve and courage in her recovery from cancer. The part played by her attitude in overcoming illness cannot be quantified, but it must be recognised as substantial:

Reality suddenly came back and kicked me hard in the stomach. ‘Oh my God!’ I flung myself on to the bed and wept. Then, equally quickly, ‘Christine’ took over again, confident and determined. I dried my eyes and took stock of myself. ‘So, I have cancer. Right. Well, I’ll treat it like ‘flu. We’ll treat it and get over it.’49

An element in this positive attitude was her humour. She and her family could frequently find a funny side to an incident or a situation, which otherwise would be quite depressing. Her attempts at using a monocle to read is one situation. Another was her reaction to her hair growing back curly following its loss through radiation, when she claimed that “cancer gives you curls.” On occasions some might find her humour inappropriate or jarring:

When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I said, ‘Looking at the funny pictures?’

On reflection it was a stupid thing to say, and Dr. Strickland must have thought so too. He retorted, ‘Not so funny, my dear. In fact, very serious ones’.50

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