Touching Story to Remind You to be Impeccable with Your Words By Seattle Bellevue's Self Harm Scar Treatment Revision Specialist Dr. Philip Young M.D.

I would like to share a story about an individual who came into our office a few days ago for a consultation regarding her acne scars. This true story, which the patient has agreed to share, has been made anonymous. This patient decided to visit our office because of an incident that happened at her workplace. She works at the front desk of a fitness club. She is a middle aged hispanic woman from Mexico. She has two children under the age of 10. She is also the sole provider of her family because her husband is not yet a legal citizen. She has to work 10 hours a day from 9-7, everyday. She has no choice. They choose to stay here because some of her main family are here.

She went on to tell me that one day a customer who needed to pay a bill was being confrontational. One thing led to another and an argument arose. While this incident was happening, her family was present in the lobby. They were waiting for her to finish her shift. As the situation escalated and the customer became more upset, there was a moment when the customer stated "You shouldn't talk... you have holes in your face...why don't you get a life...how could you go around living with your face like that...you should kill yourself". She cried the entire night. This patient was in tears while she recalled the story. This occurrence has scarred her in so many ways that she hasn't been able to think of anything else since that day. She said that she "used to wear makeup and was a confident person". Now she feels like she has no confidence and that everyone stares at her acne scars all the time. She pointed out that "...the incident was only regarding a $60 dollar bill, but that little bill has made the biggest impact in my life". She hasn't felt the same since. She said that after this situation her youngest child has asked many times, "Why did they say that... and... Mommy can I do something so I don't look like you... I don't want to look like you Mommy."

The reason why I'm bringing this story up is that someone very close to me said that you have to be impeccable with your words (Read more by following the link). Obviously this person, her customer, had nowhere near impeccable words. But we need to remind ourselves that sometimes words can hurt you just as much as the sticks and stones. I'm not even close to being impeccable with my words, but this story is going to remind me that there is always room for improvement on how we treat those around us.

Thanks for reading,

Sincerely Dr. Philip Young

Love and Peace to you All!