Scars Character or battle scars?

[Blade]

I don't have any battle or otherwise scars, I try to make a habit of not hurting me and certainly not drawing blood on myself.

BAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Yall do remember the "My first stitches story" that happened in April right? LOL I'll relay more battle wounds later.

Good topic Blaze, I think this what you describe is actually called "two ships passing in the night" where you are telling a story about your scar and people aren't really listening to you they are already planning their part of the conversation although it is only in a small way relative to your story. This was an exercise we used in some of my psych classes. To help us learn to be better listeners.

[Ms. Tabitha]

I have a scar, belly button down from my hystorectomy which has made me cancer free since Oct of 1999.
I have a small scar for my appendectomy removal.
One small scar by my belly button and one on my right rib cage from when I had my gallbladder removed.
My left forearm bottom side from when I put my arm through a plate glass window at 17, I missed the door latch.
On my right knee is a small scar from my Grandmothers corner China cabinet which met It's untimely demise and all it's contents of fine China were lost during a fight between my cousin and I.

Of course the scars I am most proud of, are the ones I recieved from my son and my three daughters!

[suebee]

Yup! Got a bunch of them. Still alive and able to walk. That's all that's important. Character-builder? Isn't everything?

[cinnamongrrl]

What a great thread Thank you Blaze, for leading me here!

I guess I will start top to bottom, since I have no chronological memory....

My left eyebrow has a scar from 3 stitches I received as a result of falling off a hassock onto a wood floor when I was about 8.

My bottom lip has a scar from 2 stitches I received at age 3 as a result a fall from the kitchen chair I was playing on (while watching my mom make pancakes) and landing on an old metal heater

I have a scar on my nose where my cat scratched me because I was wearing a towel on my head (after a shower) and it freaked her out...I was a teenager then

I have a chicken pock scar on my chest from having the chicken pox when I was 12

My left inner elbow has a scar where I needed stitches after having a glass window break on my arm. It was my own fault lol I was pressing on the glass to open the window since I couldn't reach the sash. My gram told me it would break some day....I just wanted fresh air while I watched Saturday morning cartoons...That one was the coolest to me...I had a huge gash and on the way to the hospital, my mom told me keep it covered with the face cloth...but the bleeding stopped and I could look in the big gaping hole and see tendons and stuff...shoulda known then that health care awaited me lol

I have small scar in the middle of my right hand where I interrupted a dog fight with our Mastiff...and he didn't know my hand was there and he bit down. I couldn't feel my hand for 3 days....but that's the only scar from that...

I have scar on my left ring finger from trying to catch a falling coffee mug that I was washing....didn't quite make it.

I have a scar on my RIGHT ring finger from trying unsuccessfully to extricate my cat from a pit bulls mouth. The only thing I could think of was to activate his gag reflex by sticking my fingers down his throat, but he just bit down harder... that one still makes me sad...

I have a small scar on my belly button that I THINK happened when I was very pregnant for my oldest daughter. My belly was huge and I was forever bumping into things..and I'm pretty sure I burned my belly on the stove...but I don't feel pain like other people...so...I don't know for sure

I have another scar from chicken pox on my thigh...

I have a scar from stitches on my right ankle. When I was little I was playing around the metal hatchway cellar door (after my dad told me not to) and it fell on me and pierced the skin...I'm lucky it didn't break my leg.

I'm sure there's many others...those are the most obvious and memorable...

[Luv]

I think its both,,either was there are lotsa stories about how ya got em. I've had 12 surgeries,,there is always a story.

[Stearns]

Not so much character-building, as "unique identifiers". Kinda like dental records or fingerprints... Anyway, here's mine:

Left knee - surgery for cartilage torn at the gym

Chin - racing my bicycle and the kid I was racing turned his front wheel into my back wheel b/c I was beating him. I went over the handlebars and chin- planted on the asphalt.

Right ankle - the pedal on my banana-seat bicycle would slip off, and the pedal frame gouged out my skin.

Left elbow - surgery scar from another bicycle mishap. Chain broke, I was thrown off, broke my elbow.

Inner right forearm - scar from a hot mini-bike muffler

Left leg - a neighborhood dog attacked my dog and I stepped in between them. Took it in the calf.

Right ankle - Burglar alarm call. Dog didn't appreciate me being in its yard to check on the house.

Chest - surgery

Neck - surgery for herniated discs

Back - cyst removed

Right shoulder - rotator cuff repair. Tore it at the gym.

Right knuckle - sliced by glass that fell out of a picture frame

Lower abdomen - Removal of organs that should have never been there in the first place

Right hip - didn't realize the tail of my shirt was in the flame of a candle and it caught on fire and burned me

Forehead - small star-shaped scar from falling on brick steps when I was 3. Although my mother forbade me to run up and down our front steps, I did it anyway. I just NEEDED to.

I think that's everything.

[JustJo]

Reading this thread makes me realize that, for age 48, I am remarkably unscarred.

I have a tiny one on my chin, where I cracked it open and needed stitches (twice!) at the age of 5 or 6.

Right knee...vertical scar about an inch long...getting it pinned and dragged along a fence by a horse that preferred not to cooperate.

And it's not a scar, but I have an extremely annoying ganglian cyst on my left wrist...looks like a lump under the skin (ick) from over-stressing the joint when I renovated my office. That one will be going when I can psych myself up enough to do it... (fraidy cat here)

That's it.

As far as scars on other people...I look at them the same way I do wrinkles or grey hair...just a part of who they are, and part of what we accumulate as we live.

[lipstixgal]

I have a scar on my left leg from total knee replacement surgery but I think that's about it for me. Unless I have to have any more surgeries. OH yeah I have scars from countless picc lines and groschon catheters that they placed in me while I was recuperating from Lyme's disease!!

[EnderD_503]

I'm not sure I'd call them character building. Some of them are quite literally battle scars, while others are just representative of painful memories.

Remaining scars:

My left shoulder has some scarring that I received some years back. I'd rather not get into detail about how I got them, as it represents a particularly painful time during my life.

I have a scar that looks more like a dimple on my right cheekbone as a result of the last fistfight (hopefully the last one ever since I want that chapter of my life to remain closed) I was in approximately 3 years ago.

I have another scar on my right bicep from being dragged up a flight of stairs by my father as a kid. Was cut by a wooden corner of sorts at the top of the stairs.

I recall having more scars before, but I must heal well or something cause they aren't where I remember them being anymore lol

[Brewcityboi]

I've got quite a few scars.
One is on my left knee where a white fluffy kitten named snowball thought it would be cute to use my knee as a scratching post with one of her claws.

Another big one was from when i was almost 15. I went to cross the street and some old lady going 45mph in a 25mph zone hit me. I flew a good 5 feet into the air and the sidewalk decided that it was going to take a nice chunk out of my arm.

I used to work in a sub shop and i managed to somehow miss this massive glove that i was wearing to take out the bread from the oven. That wasn't a pleasant one.

If you look really closely at my body you'll see the scars from when i used to cut. Scissors were my weapon of choice because the pain was just as good but didnt require too much medical attention. I still think about it as well, but i dont miss those days. If i want the high i used to get i just spend alot of money on a new tattoo.

I'm the reason why they put CAUTION: SHARP BLADE on things like saran wrap and aluminum foil.
I always put cling wrap on my new tats while im sleeping so it stays moist and the scabs dont fall off. I was getting ready for bed and was about to cover the one on the back of my head. I pulled off a chunk of cling wrap and my knuckle got caught in the blade. Its on my right middle finger starting at the base of the knuckle going past it. I was far too stubborn to go to the hospital (which i really regret now) and put it in a splint for 2 weeks. After i thought it was healed, i managed to split it open at work in front of a very cute lesbian couple and my boss. (She still makes fun of me for it). So i put it in a splint again for 2 weeks. Now its been nearly 3 months. I still dont have full movement in it, it still hurts very badly everytime i touch it, and my finger has this large mass of scar tissue on it. My mom, and people in the health and medical field are convinced i may of cut a nerve or two and possibly my tendon.

What did i learn? Its very possible to do what you thought was only a myth. I used to think you'd have to be pretty stupid to cut yourself on something like that, until i did it.

I think that with scars, you cant put them in either category. You have to go through some pain to get them, which would be considered a battle scar. On the other hand, each scar tells a story and in someway you had to grow as a result of it.