It Left a Mark…

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

Over the years, I’ve done things to this body of mine that has left some marks.

Some accidentally.

Some intentionally.

The result has been a fair amount of “scar tissue”.

Not the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2011 tune.

(By the way, it was off of their “Californication” album which has to be one of the coolest names for an album!)

By definition, “scar tissue” is fibrous tissue that forms when normal tissue is destroyed by disease, injury or surgery.

“Scar tissue forms when a wound heals after a cut, sore or burn or when an incision is made in the skin during surgery. Most will gradually fade over time.

I had a surgeon ask me once if I wanted plastic surgery after he stitched me up following a procedure.

I told him, “No!” and he said, “That’s alright. Chicks dig scars!”

Maybe not “PC” but funny!

I need all the help I can get!!

Sometimes, “scar tissue” can cause pain, tightness, itching and difficulty moving.

As I close in on three-quarters of a century of life experience, I realized I might have more “scar tissue” than most.

I had the usual bumps and bruises growing up as a kid.

My first stitches occurred in the 2nd grade when I was hit in the kisser with a recess snowball at East Mansfield Elementary School.

Some credit childhood buddy Dave Bowman with the snowball toss, but fingerprints revealed nothing and DNA-testing wasn’t available.

The result was 3 stiches on my left upper lip which had to be pretty cool for a kid that age.

I remember a bicycle mishap in the early 60’s that flipped me over the handlebars of my J.C. Higgins 26 inch two-wheeler, leaving a scrape on one shoulder, elbow and both knees.

I also had to walk myself and my bike about a mile and a half home after the crash.

In high school, I had two different hernia surgeries that kept me bent over like the “Hunchback of Notre Dame” for few weeks, even at a young age.

I felt as though my chin was sewed to my knees.

I even had open-heart surgery in 2016.

That left a sizeable incision right down the middle of my chest.

That scar is virtually invisible although it can be seen when I get chilled.

I still find it amazing that I was kept alive with a heart-lung machine while doctors repaired an aneurism on my ascending aorta.

I’ve also had literally dozens of basil cell, squamous and melanoma cancers removed.

Most we’ve caught quite early but they’ve all added to my “scar tissue” record.

Through all of this, I’ve been amazed with my relatively fast healing powers and most of the “scars” have to be pointed out.

I used to think I might end up with a whole new skin wardrobe via scar tissue.

I’m reminded that your skin is the largest organ of our bodies.

We laugh around here that it’s not an official home project until I get a little DNA in it or on it.

You combine tools and occasional bad aim and something is going to get cut, bruised or pinched.

I’ve discovered that bifocals are not friendly to the home improvement guys like me, either.

What’s the old adage, “A stitch in time saves nine.?”

I guess I’ve saved a few over the years!