His family abandoned him. A doctor adopted him. What he did then is hard to believe when this photo goes viral. This man was abused by many words about his family, and his closed circle abandoned him. Now we can see the real story.
How begins a gorgeous man had a large portion of his face pulverized by a melon measured, dangerous tumor. A specialist has now completed reconstructive surgery all over with skin taken from his thighs. And however, his face is not back to typical. It is currently more adequate and less demanding to take a gander at. A man who was left with half a face after it was ravaged by cancer has had it rebuilt by a genius surgeon.
Tim McGrath, 38, was diagnosed with a synovial sarcoma, an extremely rare form of soft tissue cancer, leaving him with a grapesized tumor growing on his face. Medics managed to cut out the cancer’s tumor, but his body rejected multiple attempts to rebuild it. But after a year of living with exposed flesh, top surgeon Dr. Congrat Claysset heard about Mr. McGrath’s plight and agreed to help him using skin from his leg and forearm to reconstruct his face.
Mr. McGrath from Michigan is now enjoying every opportunity he has given, and the reconstruction work on his face will continue in 2018. He said after the operation to remove the tumor, I was heartbroken. I didn’t realize that half of my face would be taken away, and it wasn’t until I went to Dr. Chaosate that I started to feel real hope again.
I was covered in scars from previous surgeries which limited my options for reconstruction, but we went ahead and the outcome has been incredible. He reconstructed my face using skin and muscle from my leg and left forearm, and a flap from my forehead and skin grafts were used to help the healing process. I currently can’t drink liquid, eat through my mouth, or pronounce certain words. However, my quality of life has improved massively. There are people who stare at me, mostly children, who don’t understand, but I would hope that others look past what they can see.
My journey has been long and mostly inconceivable to most, but I have an amazing support group around me, and I draw strengthen them daily. I’ve been through something horrific, but if what I’ve gone through can inspire people to live their lives with gratitude for things they take for granted, then it makes what I’ve gone through all worth the while. Mr. McGrath was first diagnosed with synovial sarcoma in February 2014 after complaining of severe jaw pain. An MRI revealed an egg sized tumor.
However, Mr. McGrath turned down surgery and spent the following 18 months seeking nonsurgical alternatives. Unfortunately, synovial sarcoma is resistant to many things, including chemotherapy, and the tumor continued to grow, he added. At the end of May 2015, the tumor doubled in size, and I had to have a tracheotomy fitted to me and able to breathe and a feeding tube so I could eat. Because the tumor had invaded the space in my mouth, heavy doses of radiation caused the tumor to start dying and shrink, and parts started to fall off.
Eventually, I got my mouth back and I could eat very thin pieces of food. After the tumor shrank and the radiation treatment was over, I had to wait a few weeks before they could remove the remaining mass. In October 2015, Mr. McGrath was admitted to the hospital, where he remained for almost seven weeks following the initial 30 hours operation to remove and then reconstruct his face. Mr.
McGrath said, before the surgery, they gave me the worst case scenario. They said I would have to lose my left eye and my left ear, but I didn’t believe that was going to be necessary. When I woke up, I was in complete shock. As well as removing part of my face and bone structure, they had removed most of the muscle on my back. They had taken a rib, and they took part of my scapula and part of my shoulder too.
This was so they could rebuild my bone structure and the surrounding area. However, my body rejected the first attempts. Eventually, I was discharged and the cavity was closed over. But over time, the transplant kept shrinking, and I experienced numerous infections. There were so many times when I wanted to give up, and at times it was difficult to find the strength to carry on.
During his long journey towards recovery, mr. McGrath made the bold decision to leave his original surgeon and was welcomed with open arms by Dr. Chaoset, who he heard about through a friend in April 2016, he added, I’m fortunate enough that he practices within 12 miles of my parents house. Dr. C is a humanitarian who dedicates his life towards giving and helping others.
He’s humble and has an amazing sense of humor. I consider him a great friend. He’s given me so much hope. I’ve had over 20 surgeries to date, and five of those have been with Dr. C, none of which have been rejected.
Dr. C now wants me to have a year off to relax and gain my strength back, let the swelling go down and just have fun in life. I’m definitely taking advantage of every opportunity I have to live. Dr. C will continue with the reconstruction of Mr.
McGrath’s face next winter, which will further help his speech and will give him the ability to eat and drink again. Mr. McGrath said, my family and friends have been amazing, and their fundraisers have helped me afford and endure the $40,000 that has had to come out of pocket. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have insurance. The first eight weeks in the hospital rang a bill up of $1.2 million alone.
I now have found the confidence to share my story, and if my journey can lead to a happy life for others, and I truly understand why I was chosen to walk this path. What are sarcomas? Sarcomas are a group of rare cancers affecting the tissues that connect, support and surround other body structures and organs. Tissues that can be affected by sarcomas include fat, muscle, blood vessels, deep skin tissues, tendons and ligaments. Sarcomas can develop in almost any part of the body, including the legs, arms and the trunk or torso.
They account for around one in every 100 cancers diagnosed in the UK. More than 3000 new cases are diagnosed every year. There are often no obvious symptoms in the early stages, although sufferers may notice a soft, painless lump under the skin or deeper that can’t easily be moved around. And it gets bigger over time. People should see your GP if they have any worrying lump or any other troublesome symptoms.
A lump the size of a golf ball or larger should be regarded as suspicious and needs to be investigated urgently. I was covered in scars from previous surgeries which limited my options for reconstruction, but we went ahead and the outcome has been incredible. He reconstructed my face using skin and muscle from my left leg, left forearm, and a flap from my forehead, and the skin grafts were used to help the healing process. I currently can’t drink liquid, eat through my mouth or pronounce certain words. However, my quality of life has improved massively.
There are people who stare at me, mostly children who don’t understand, but I would hope that others look past what they can see. My journey has been long and most inconceivably the most, but I have an amazing support group around me and I draw strength from them daily. I’ve been through something horrific, but if what I’ve gone through can inspire people to live their lives with gratitude for the things they take for granted, then it makes what I’ve gone through all worth it. Mr. McGrath was first diagnosed with synovial sarcoma in February 2014 after complaining of severe jaw pain.
An MRI revealed an egg sized tumor. However, Mr. McGrath turned down surgery and spent the following 18 months seeking nonsurgical alternatives. Medics managed to cut out the cancerous tumor, but his body rejected multiple attempts to rebuild it. He is pictured with the tumor on his face at the present time.
Dr. C acknowledges that I have been through an amazing amount of stress on my body and he wants everything to rest and heal over the next year, explains McGrath. He wants me to go out and have fun and enjoy my life. He’s now focused on regaining the ability to eat through his mouth as well as speak more clearly and drink liquids. McGrath says that his family has been his champions, adding that his mom became my at home nurse for wound changes, IVs feedings and so much more, while his father has stood by my side from the very start.
We were a close family before, but have grown closer because of this journey. He notes, adding praise for his three siblings and friends. Those friends continue to amaze me with their support through fundraisers and websites and always reaching out to me. Wanting to share his journey has taken time, McGrath admits. I didn’t want to be reminded of all the things I had to endure, he says, adding that now he is focused on the way his ordeal has changed his perspective.