Thursday 7 May 2009

Face Transplant

connie culp before being shot and afterWhen her husband blasted her in the face with a shotgun five years ago, Connie Culp was left horrifically disfigured.

Despite 30 operations to rebuild her shattered face, she hid away, terrified of what others might think.

Now, however, Mrs Culp has stepped forward to reveal the results of the world's most extensive face transplant - and to declare she is no longer afraid.

At a news conference in Cleveland in the U.S. on Tuesday, she also praised the family of the unnamed donor for their generosity.

'I guess I'm the one you came to see today,' she said.

'While I know you all want to focus on me, I think it's more important you focus on the donor family that made it so I could have this Christmas present.'

The shotgun blast shattered her nose, cheeks, the roof of her mouth and an eye, leaving a gaping hole.

Hundreds of fragments of shotgun pellets and bone splinters were embedded in her face and after emergency surgery she could only breathe by having a tube inserted in her windpipe.

Her appearance was so shocking that she left home as rarely as possible to avoid being taunted.

Once while shopping she heard a little kid say, "You said there were no real monsters, Mommy, and there's one right there".

Culp stopped and said, "I'm not a monster. I'm a person who was shot," and pulled out her driver's licence to show the child what she used to look like.'

Here are the X-Rays of her after she was shot

connie culp x rays after being shot in the face by her husbandI don't know about you, but I think this is one of the bravest women I have ever seen. People will be people and can be cruel at times. But there are far more people who will respect her and appreciate fully what she has been through.

Us human beings place far too much emphasis on how people look. Beauty is only temporary and fades with time. Being a good person and being a nice person lasts a lifetime and is much more valuable !!!

Arsenal Suicide

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An Arsenal fan has hanged himself after his team lost 3-1 to Manchester United in the Champions League Semi Final on Tuesday night.

Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan from Nairobi was found dead at his home just hours after his heroes slumped out of the coveted competition.

It was confirmed by the police that football-mad Mr Omondi was wearing his Arsenal shirt when he took his own life.

Mr Omondi's friend Calvin Otieno said: "We were watching the match at Bamba 70 pub, and when Arsenal were defeated, Suleiman just walked out in protest and he was crying."

It appears that football related tragedies are frequent in Kenya, where English clubs enjoy a passionate following among the locals.

European games, in particular the UEFA Champions League, attract more attention than national and continental fixtures.

For many Arsenal fans, the tie was a chance to salvage a disappointing season.

It has been four years since the Gunners won a domestic or European trophy.

Arsenal's chances of reaching their second European final in four years effectively came to an end after just ten minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 11th minute strike meant the Gunners needed to score four goals.

To take your own life because your team gets dumped out of the Champions League is a bit over the top I think. Sure, it is not a nice feeling, but surely life itself is more important than this.

It makes me wonder how bad this guys life was overall if a game of football meant that much to him.