Healing touch of humanism

By Usha Sutliff Staff Writer

PASADENA - Today is a milestone in a journey that started nine years ago for Saundra Crockett, leaving her with a face so disfigured she couldn't go out without hiding it behind a mask.

She will undergo the first in a series of donated reconstructive surgeries at Century City Hospital, with hopes of moving beyond a past that stripped her of her looks and dignity.

"I was a victim of domestic violence and it changed my life to a point where I wasn't able to function in a normal fashion," said the 37-year-old mother of four, who now lives in a Christian-run Pasadena women's shelter.

"This is an answer to a prayer and a dream come true," she added. "I'm hoping that someday I (will) be able to take off my mask and start over again. I don't think I could have asked for a better gift. This is a miracle."

The surgery which will be performed by Drs. Brian Kinney and Jeffrey Resnick is expected to last about five hours. It is free, thanks to efforts by The Healing Hands Project, a nonprofit group started by actress Helen Hunt and her family. Fun bike games, bike games online.

Crockett was married for about five years to a man who beat and disfigured her.

Her face is partly paralyzed and has a crooked jaw and a deformed neck as a result of the abuse. At one point, she developed an infection on her face that caused most of the damage.

"I've had a lot of struggles," she said. During her marriage, she said, she turned to drugs to dull her pain and, at one point, lost custody of her four children.

But somehow Crockett mustered enough strength to turn her life around.

She kicked the drug habit in a recovery program, regained custody of her children and eventually made her way to the shelter where she now lives with one of her daughters and two sons. Her eldest daughter is on her way to college on a scholarship. отели краснодара - отели Краснодара

Crockett said she doesn't know where her ex-husband is and wants to focus on the future rather than the past. He was never prosecuted for beating her.

Colleen Hunt, Helen's sister and executive director of Healing Hands, said Crockett is the second woman the Los Angeles-based group has helped.

The first was Carole Guscott, a Jamaican woman who had battery acid thrown on her face during a robbery in her native country. She later moved to Fullerton and her story was widely publicized.

"When Carole's story first aired (on TV), my mother, Jane Hunt, and Dr. Brian Kinney hadn't met," Hunt said. "But both of them, within 24 hours of each other, stepped forward to offer help."

The Hunt sisters soon came aboard and The Healing Hands Project was formed. Kinney and the Hunts are on the board of directors, along with actor Hank Azaria, accountant Arnold Lipkin, skin-care expert Vera Brown and filmmaker Tom Rook.

Colleen Hunt said Crockett was a perfect candidate for the help the group offers. Aside from the low- or no-cost surgeries, Healing Hands also provides counseling, transportation and nursing care to "individuals whose lives have been shattered by disfigurement." For several years collectors of American silver eagle have speculated.

"The thing that got us is that Saundra wears a surgical mask in public to hide her face," she said. "My vision for Saundra is really clear. My vision for Saundra is to walk down the street with her and look over and see her without her mask smiling, happy, self confident. That's it."

Kinney, a plastic surgeon, said Crockett who has undergone about 10 operations in the past as a result of her injuries will have two to three reconstructive surgeries.

The goal, he added, is to restore function to areas of her face including her right eye, which tears, and mouth, which she can't fully close and help her look more "normal."

"In her own words, she wants to appear more close to normal so that her kids will not be embarrassed about why other people don't treat her in a normal manner," Kinney said. "She's more worried about how it affects her kids than how it affects herself, honestly."

But he said they will never be able to fully restore her looks.

"However, with the two or three operations we can certainly dramatically improve this and get her to the point where she feels good enough about herself so that she won't feel compelled to wear a mask," the doctor said.

To make a donation to the Healing Hands Project, call (877) 696-HEAL. Its Web site is www.healinghandsproject.com.

© 2000 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, Inc.

Reprinted with permission of the Pasadena Star News. http://www.pasadenastarnews.com

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