Many of us take our smiles for granted, because it's something
we can do without thinking. For 23-year-old Wang Na, however, even
something as basic as smiling is impossible because she was born
without an upper jaw.
Wang Na, Shaanxi province, has a face that looks like a sunken
pit because of her rare condition. She says she was often made fun
of by other kids, and had to cover her face with a scarf whenever
she went out. She ran home crying after her first day at school and
never went back. She was also abandoned by her real parents.
In May 2010, her life changed forever when her face was rebuilt
by doctors after four years of treatment. She can now smile like a
normal person...
Tuesday, Apr 17, 2012
China Daily/Asia News Network
By Ma Lie, Liu Zhihua and Lu Hongyan
XI'AN, China - For the first two decades of her life, Wang Na just
wanted to be able to smile and chew food.
The 23-year-old was born without an upper jawbone or upper gums,
making the middle of her face look like a sunken pit.
She rushed back home, crying, the first day she went to school
and had never gone back.
"I had to cover my face with a scarf when I went out and I was
always ridiculed by other kids," she recalled.
That was until May 2010 when her face was finally rebuilt by
doctors after four years of treatment.
For the first time in her life she could smile like a normal
person, and chew and taste food. It was like being reborn.
Wang, from Shaanxi province, had been abandoned soon after her
birth.
Wang Youren, 67, Wang's adoptive father, recalls the night of
July 24, 1988, when he heard a noise outside as he prepared to go
to bed.
He had thought someone was trying to steal his cow, but instead
found a package of bedding next to his firewood stack.
Inside, the father found Wang Na and brought her into the
house.
In the light, the couple found a piece of paper with the baby's
date of birth: July 23, 1988.
The couple felt glad when they found that the baby was a girl as
they had two sons and no daughters.
But their hearts sank when they found, while trying to feed her,
that the baby girl had no upper jaw.
Though their elder son had been born deaf and dumb, the couple
decided to adopt her because they thought she would die, if
abandoned again.
To feed her, the poor family borrowed money and bought a dairy
goat to produce milk.
As Wang Na grew, her mother mashed steamed bread and rice into a
paste to feed the girl - a special feeding that lasted more than 20
years.
Wang Youren recalled taking her to a rural fair where many
people looked at her as a monster. "I was even scolded and told not
to bring her out to scare people," said the father.
The family had tried to restore her face since she was eight,
visiting many hospitals in the province, but were told there was no
way.
One day in 2006, a neighbor who worked in Shaanxi's capital,
Xi'an, suggested that the family go to the Dental Hospital of the
Fourth Military Medical University.
Liu Yanpu, a professor and director of oral and facial plastic
surgery in the hospital, knew the case was rare. The cost of
treatment, as well as the difficulties and risks, were quite
high.
"Seeing the praying eyes of her parents and Wang Na, I couldn't
refuse the family."
The doctor reported the case to the head of the hospital next
morning and the hospital decided to give her free treatment.
"I knew we would take risks to do this surgery, as there was no
successful experience to learn from," said Zhao Yimin, director of
the hospital.
The rest is history.
When Wang Na returned home with her restored face, she was
introduced to many men for marriage.
After thinking for many days and nights, she made the unexpected
decision to marry her elder deaf-mute adopted brother, who had
looked after her for the past two decades.
Life has never been better for Wang, she said.
"I have had double happiness during the past half year," Wang
continued.
"One is that I held my wedding ceremony in November. The other
is that I got 0.67 hectares of the best farmland from the
villager's committee to grow vegetables for my new life."
Full article and more photos :
http://www.yourhealth.com.sg/content/face-rebuilt-life-reborn
