Biggest Challenge Essay Contest
First Place		The Challenge of Surgery by Melanie Osgood Tennessee School for the Deaf Knoxville, Tennessee

	Melanie Osgood

One early morning in 1981, I was born into the world. Three hours later, my parents got to meet me for the first time. My mother knew right away that something was wrong. She stayed by my side every minute. While my mother waited with me in the hospital, my dad worked long hours to pay the outrageous bills.

I was born with a birth defect called Pierre Robin Syndrome. This meant my face was not formed correctly. My nose was soft, filled only with cartilage and without a bone bridge. My jaw was too far back, and my chin was not built out enough. My cheeks were not really high enough to show I had cheeks. My lips were small and shaped like a V. I looked like a Cabbage Patch doll.

As I grew, it was very hard for me to face the world. I felt like I was different from everyone else. People and kids at school would call me cruel names, like "pig nose."

Sometimes I would go home and fall on my bed, cry, and ask God, "Why me?"

I don't know how I went through all the tortures. I never showed how hurt I was. I just ignored the other kids. I did well—I think because I had some gifts from God that helped me feel confident. I am very athletic. I play soccer and basketball, and run cross-country and track. When people saw that I was an excellent athlete with a good heart, they would treat me better, and say that they were wrong about me. I am lucky because I get support from my parents, family, and good friends. Without my parent's love and support, I don't know how I would have survived.

Melanie with her family: "Without my parents' love and support, I don't know how I would have survived," she wrote.

In 1994, my mom found Dr. Larry Sargent, who works at the Earlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dr. Sargent is a plastic surgeon. He said it would be a challenge to make my face look normal. The first surgery was on my nose. Dr. Sargent took a piece of bone from my skull and stretched my skin over it to form a normal-sized nose. At first I was not used to my new nose. It was hard for me to drink from a Coke can because my nose was always in the way. Still, I was happy.

In the second surgery, he used a special kind of plastic to build up my cheeks, chin, and jaw. For a month and a half after the surgery, my cheeks and chin were swollen.

When the swelling went down, my family could not believe how much my looks had changed.

The final surgery was on my nose again. Dr. Sargent shaped it the way I wanted it to be shaped¾ small, pointed downward, and normal.

He did a wonderful job on my face. He is a miracle doctor.

My challenge was to take the risk and make myself look normal. Since I met this challenge, I have gained self-confidence and a positive attitude about myself. I am always looking forward to meeting new people and doing things with others. I can walk into a place without ducking my head and feeling different from the rest of the group. I make friends quickly and smoothly. Now I know what other teens do on Friday and Saturday night.

I love it!