Ten years ago, Chrissy Steltz lost her eyes, nose, and part of her face when another teenager fired a shotgun from five feet away. She has been denied prosthetic surgery because the Oregon Health Plan considered the procedure "cosmetic", but thanks to her doctor and some charitable friends, she'll soon have a new face.
Her injuries haven’t stopped her from living: she’s been teaching blind children life skills. “Life is what you make it,” she said.And now she and her partner, Jeffrey, who’s also blind, are raising their 2-month-old baby boy, which leaves no time for self-pity. “Just because you have a tragic thing happen in your life, it doesn’t mean that your life is over,” she said.
Previously on Neatorama- America's First Face Transplant
Video stills above courtesy KATU TV.
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:06 pm
“Cosmetic”?!? Just another example of how insurance companies have waaaaaay too much control over medical procedures."
Uhh, trish? Yeah, that's not an insurance company policy. That's the Oregon State public healthcare plan - supposedly a model for how the Democrat's plan should work. So I guess if you want that to pass, you better hope you never get shot in the face.
Humphrey, the sooner you get some brains over there, the better. She already is on public health care, moron. It was public health care that has denied her treatment. And this is how it will soon be for all of us here. Great, huh?