The Injury that changed my life.......

BACKGROUND TO THE INJURY: September 9, 2006, I was in a Beauty Salon getting partial highlights. I had never worked with this particular person, but I knew the Salon very well. Then an awful accident happened....(For all the guys out there, I'm not going to explain to you what things women have to go through to look their best)

THE ACCIDENT:
1. I didn't know it at the time, but she had lied to me and said she had been "doing hair" for around 7 years. I think everyone asks that, because if you are going to pay the big bucks to get something done, you need to know the experience. Otherwise, I would have gone to a Pro-Cuts or something.

2. There are theories to what happened: 1.) she could have mixed up the hair solution wrong,  2.) she didn't apply the foils properly, because they are also to avoid the chemicals being placed on your scalp.

3. WE KNOW she did this wrong. While I consider myself a pretty busy savvy person, it's hard for me to take charge and ask for what I want. She went for a smoke break that took her around 30 minutes, while I was underneath HIGH HEAT blower. My hair lifts really easily, so there was no need for this. I just always expected her to come back and move on to the next step. I am 5'9", and therefore my head had to go down towards my chin.  I was listening to music on my I-POD and reading magazines, but just kept waiting for the stylist.

4. I felt my head getting REALLY hot all of a sudden, and so I get up out of the chair, and then the chemicals must have poured onto my scalp, and I was screaming bloody murder. I tore up my knee really good when I was 14, and had 3 surgeries... this was 100 times worse.

5. Someone called 911...paramedics came, and I suppose with the amount of pain I was in, and all the blood everywhere, that they thought I should be care flighted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, TX, which is one of the best burn hospitals in the U.S.

THE AFTERMATH

So, I was in extreme pain, but they gave me a bunch of stuff to put all over my head, and some pain meds, and sent me home and wanted me to come back within a week. Then, a scab formed on the crown of my head, and all my hair came out. It was disgusting...... OMG! There is so much more to this story, I can't even tell you.

So, I remained on "low does" opiates (7.5 Hydro) and other stuff 800mg Neurontin, and Elavil), until I had the surgery. I had a hard time finding a plastic surgeon take me considering none of them could provide a guarantee. Well, my plastic surgeon that did do the surgery, did it with the understanding that he would be able to get all the messed up tissue out.

They did a "Spiral Skin Graft", and while my hair from that area never grew back (I had 2nd and 3rd degree burns), I was left with OVERWHELMING pain.

Now.. I'm having problems with my pain management doctor!

xoxo,
Lauren