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Katie's New Face

nationalgeographic.com

121–130 of 337 posts

Re: Katie's New Face

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate the glamorization of the military. I don't understand how anyone would actually join. Sacrifice yourself mentally, and physically to fight political wars for the rich and powerful. No thank you. But the propaganda is soooo strong it preys on people who can't think for themselves.

Just on the topic of why people sign up: I think many people join because they really think they're doing something good - defending those that need protection or help from the 'real' bad guys. Obviously that's not 100% what's really going on all the time but it has enough truth in it to be attractive. And I think it's true that some real good is done by (most?) military organisations - ie disaster relief, some major…

[deleted]

Re: Katie's New Face

#122

It's wrong that assisted suicide is illegal. The only humane thing to do here is let her pass in peace.

Seems to me she wants to live. I am not sure anyone would go through with that surgery if they did not want to live. Edit: Reading more about the story. Her suicide attempt was entirely impulsive and not premeditated at all. > "I never thought of doing that ever before, and so on hearing about it, I just didn't know how to handle it," she told National Geographic. "I felt so guilty that I had put my family through su…

If you want to talk about inappropriate, talking about gun control in relation to this story is COMPLETELY inappropriate here. This 100% is a story about suicide, hence my comment about assisted suicide.

Re: Katie's New Face

#124
post #92

Notable call-to-action from the article: > Adrea Schneider’s organs and tissues have helped at least seven people. > From halting infections to curing blindness, a single donor can save or > improve more than 70 lives. Enroll to donate organs, eyes, and tissues > at RegisterMe.org and marrow at BeTheMatch.org. To donate a kidney > or part of a liver or other organ while alive, contact a transplant center.

The UK is soon to be moving to an opt out for organ donation (with the usual caveat that family members can still refuse to allow it), I was saddened to see some people spinning it as "the government wants control over my body" when all it takes is a simple checkbox to say you don't want to be a part of it.

Re: Katie's New Face

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would guess that it's swelling and scar tissue buildup (fibrosis) from the surgery and ongoing autoimmune response. As far as her immune system is concerned, the grafted face is a foreign invader. She's going to take anti-rejection drugs her whole life and she will always be at risk for total rejection in the future.

I can confirm that cyclosporin and prednisone, two immunosuppressive medications, make the patient bigger.

And prednisone has a common side effect called moon face, which is pretty much this.

Re: Katie's New Face

#126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who don't think just like you != people who can't think for themselves.

That's not their argument, you are making a much stronger claim than they are.

> people who can't think for themselves.

It's literally word for word from the comment.

Re: Katie's New Face

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate the glamorization of the military. I don't understand how anyone would actually join. Sacrifice yourself mentally, and physically to fight political wars for the rich and powerful. No thank you. But the propaganda is soooo strong it preys on people who can't think for themselves.

Just on the topic of why people sign up: I think many people join because they really think they're doing something good - defending those that need protection or help from the 'real' bad guys. Obviously that's not 100% what's really going on all the time but it has enough truth in it to be attractive. And I think it's true that some real good is done by (most?) military organisations - ie disaster relief, some major…

Yeah, I recently met a guy in the engineering corps who was super proud of the humanitarian work he's done and the opportunities he's had to travel, learn languages, etc. Could be that he got lucky with his placements, though.

Re: Katie's New Face

#128

That was a difficult article (pictures actually) to read. It shows (to me at least) how intimately our humanity is linked to a face that passes our own internal pattern matching heuristics. I'm not proud to admit my initial thought was not how difficult life must be for her but rather how deformed her face was. But then I was proud that my (our) inherent human intelligence and morality was able to put that thought as…

For many who have facial deformities, depending on how severe, every day can be a challenge as they are continually reminded by the condition they live with - and potentially the inherent limitations (actual or self-imposed) of that condition. This can be a very negative space to be in - day in and day out.

I urge all of you with children, to please foster empathy in your little people for other people less fortunate. Children can at times say the most brutal and hurtful things - and these hurtful words or even laughter - especially for children with deformities - can be very painful.

While shocking to see the pictures in this article, I hope many (most? all?) of us feel great empathy for her or others with facial or other deformities.

Thank you for being so open about your reactions to the article.

Re: Katie's New Face

#129
As impressed as I am by the facial transplant I think I'm even more in awe of the fact that they were able to save her life after sustaining such a grievous maxillofacial and cranial injury. I can't even fathom the amount of intensity it probably took to keep her among us.

Re: Katie's New Face

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems to me she wants to live. I am not sure anyone would go through with that surgery if they did not want to live. Edit: Reading more about the story. Her suicide attempt was entirely impulsive and not premeditated at all. > "I never thought of doing that ever before, and so on hearing about it, I just didn't know how to handle it," she told National Geographic. "I felt so guilty that I had put my family through su…

If you want to talk about inappropriate, talking about gun control in relation to this story is COMPLETELY inappropriate here. This 100% is a story about suicide, hence my comment about assisted suicide.

Firearms advocates don't think that it's ever the appropriate time to talk about the issues. It's always "too soon" after a tragedy because guns cause so many tragedies in America every day. This story is about someone who needs a new face because she made an impulsive decision and had access to a gun, so it removed her face. No other form of suicide would have led to this scenario. In fact, if there wasn't an easily accessible gun, it's entirely possible this might not have led to a suicide attempt at all. Gun control is ESSENTIAL to this story.
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