BROOKE Bates, who became the youngest patient to undergo
cosmetic surgery at the tender age of 12 after being taunted at
school, revealed that she "was on the verge of killing myself as I
felt so ugly."
The Bates family, who lives in Texas, attracted national
attention after allowing their 12-year-old to go under the knife.
But Brooke, now 17, who dreamt of having the body of the Barbie
dolls she used to play with, insisted that her mother did the right
thing. She said: "No one can blame my mum for letting me go ahead
with the surgery. She didn’t want to lose her daughter."
It was to be the start of a series of procedures after she had
the tummy tuck and liposuction. She was fitted with a gastric band
and had breast implants in her increasingly desperate bid to
become a living doll over five years.
She said: "Having surgery so young definitely made me obsessed
with my looks, but what’s wrong with a girl wanting to make the
best of herself?" So far, it has cost her parents £34,000
($68,700), but her mother, Cindy, 44 has no regrets.
"If people could see how much Brooke’s life has changed, they’d
understand why I let her have the surgery. I regret not signing her
up for a gastric band when she was nine." The 44-year-old added
that other parents should do the same.
Brooke, who now weighs 63kg, remains insecure about the way she
looks although her parents have given her a further £11,000
($22,300) to lavish on beauty products. "It’s cool that my friends
look up to me as Barbie Brooke but it means I am always on a diet
and exercising," she says.
Source: The Mirror