Scars 'til Your Beautiful

The modeling industry has brought us to picture the ideal person - flawless in every sense of the word. But that is not the truth of who we are as humans. I present to you sixteen year old Shelby survivor of a rare liver disease biliary atresia. Only 1 in 20,000 people are born with biliary atresia and the outlook without intervention is fatal. Shelby was born with this disease and had numerous surgeries from the age of two months to her liver transplant at the age of ten. Shelby was in and out of the hospital for ten years until she developed hepatopulmonary syndrome which only occurs in liver diseased patients. This is when her doctors decided to put her back on the transplant waiting list and she waited 265 days for a liver. She was on bed rest and taken out of school and she says, “I honestly don’t think the doctors thought I was going to make it, but I did.” Shelby’s transplant was on April 19th 2012 and she could not be more grateful for the gift of life that she received. Her donor died suddenly of a brain aneurysm and when doctors asked his wife if he could be an organ donor when he passed, she said yes, and Shelby says “that difference between yes or no was my difference between life or death.” A crucial part of Shelby’s transplant was accepting her scar as a part of who she is. When she was younger, she would see models and their airbrushed skin and think “my body could be nice except I have this scar.” She said she has always been self-conscious of her scar and she believes that being photographed will help not only her gain confidence but other people with scars too. She says, “I’ve always had problems with my scar and I know that a lot of younger girls probably have had problems with there’s too. I’m hoping that this can just bring like a sense of confidence to me and everyone else out there who has problems with scars in general. Not just transplant scars, but any kind of scar. So they can feel good about themselves.” Now Shelby sees her scar as part of her unique beauty, and that she is especially beautiful because of her scar. We both hope these pictures and Shelby’s story help to give everyone who feels different a boost of confidence and raises awareness for organ donation. Whether your skin is different or you have a scar, everyone is beautiful in their own way. And without Shelby’s amazing donor, she would not be here today. Twenty people die every day from the lack of available organs for transplant. Save a beautiful life like Shelby’s, be an organ donor.
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