Life-Changing Recoveries: Inspiring Before-and-After Stories.

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This photo was taken right after my facial reconstruction surgery, and it still stops me every time I see it. I was extremely drunk, got into a violent fight, and the entire left side of my face was shattered. Most people can’t even tell now, and I’m beyond thankful for that surgeon. I have more than 30 titanium plates in my face. The surgery lasted nearly ten hours, but the recovery was the real nightmare. I had to sleep sitting up in a chair and couldn’t lie down for months. I was leaning hard on painkillers just to get through the days.

Sometimes I joke that maybe God thought I needed to be humbled a little. The second photo is me now. I’m about 60 pounds heavier, healthier, and standing in a very different place in life. I won’t pretend everything is perfect or that I’m happy every single day. That’s not real life. But when I look at how far I’ve come and how much my mindset has changed, it feels powerful. Surviving that chapter changed me in ways I never expected. I’m grateful to still be here. Praise God.