VOA标准英语2013--Liberian Refugee Gets New Face After Devastating Acid Burn

 

Liberian Refugee Gets New Face After Devastating¹ Acid Burn

Henry Cole has lost count of how many times he’s been wheeled into surgery. In the last two years, Cole has had more than a dozen procedures. And there are more to come. But he has no complaints.

“The Lord has been paving my way… I always met the good doctors, the good nurses, the good friends," said Cole.

When VOA first met Cole in the spring of 2012, he wore a mask to help heal his facial wounds. But the emotional trauma² that led him on this journey was still fresh.

"I tell you the truth when I saw myself back in Liberia, I didn’t want to continue living," said Cole, who was the police traffic commander in Monrovia, Liberia.

Surprising tragedy

In April of 2011, he was the victim of an attack that seemed to come out of nowhere, in the middle of the night.

"...only to come out of sleep in shock that some liquid was on my chest and it started to burn," said Cole.

The liquid was acid, poured on by an intruder who is yet to be found.

"The acid entered in my nose, in my mouth and in my ear and then I cried out for help," he remembers.

Cole was taken to a local hospital.

"For two weeks there, my condition was getting worse. I was in pain," he said.

Cole credits his faith with his will to live.

"After some time and counseling, I got to know there is a God who watched over us and preserves our lives. So I still have a second chance of living. So I must carry on," he said.

Requesting help

With the help of friends, Cole left Liberia for America, ending up at Johns Hopkins Burn Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

His doctors remember the first time they saw him.

"Literally³ just walked into the office and asked for help," said Dr. Stephen M. Milner at the Johns Hopkins Burn Center.

"His chest, abdomen⁴, arms were all scarred," said Dr. Leigh Ann Price.

And that began the long process of creating Cole’s new face, a face transformed bit by bit.

"One of the first things we did, in the first operation, was to make him a nostril⁵ on the left side," said Milner.

"It's very similar to building a building. And for a burn patient, the canvas is their skin," said Price.

"We covered it with what we call aloe graft⁶, which is cadaver⁷ skin. So we can leave this on for a week, and we take it off before it becomes rejected," said Milner. "And then what we used in this case was a material called Integra. It's a synthetic⁸ material that mimics⁹ the skin.

And then after three weeks we can peel off the top layer and we can take some skin from a different part of his body that isn’t burnt, and we use that to cover."

New face

Between surgeries, Cole recuperates¹⁰ at a friend’s home. He watches African movies and dreams of the day when his daughter will join him in America

Cole already feels blessed, thanks to the doctors who showed him his new face for the first time.

"He was in the tub, and I asked him if he wanted to see his face," said Price.

"As soon as they brought the mirror, and I look at it," said Cole.

"And then he reaches up, and he's got a tear coming out of his eye," said Price.

"I sprung on her and gave her a big hug," said Cole.

"He apparently¹¹ liked it," said Cole with a smile.

And when he sees his former self, he is confident that he is well on his way.

"I’m not far from being like this [his image in a photo]. I’m very close," he said.

But in the meantime, Henry Cole is starting to enjoy his life again.

"Now I’m happy," he said. 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

5 nostril   

n.鼻孔

参考例句：

• The Indian princess wore a diamond in her right nostril.印弟安公主在右鼻孔中戴了一颗钻石。
• All South American monkeys have flat noses with widely spaced nostril.所有南美洲的猴子都有平鼻子和宽大的鼻孔。

6 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

7 cadaver   

n.尸体

参考例句：

• Examination of a cadaver is to determine the cause of death.尸体解剖是为了确认死亡原因。
• He looked down again at the gaping mouth of the cadaver.他的眼光不由自主地又落到了死人张大的嘴上。

8 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

9 mimics   

n.模仿名人言行的娱乐演员，滑稽剧演员( mimic的名词复数 )；善于模仿的人或物v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的第三人称单数 )；酷似

参考例句：

• Methods:Models were generate by CT scan,Mimics software and Abaqus software. 方法：采用CT扫描，Mimics软件和Abaqus软件的CAD进行三维有限元模型的创建。 来自互联网
• Relaxing the mind and body mimics the effect that some blood-pressure pills would have. 放松身心会产生某些降压药才能产生的效果。 来自辞典例句

10 recuperates   

v.恢复（健康、体力等），复原( recuperate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This is the season in which Nature recuperates. 这是大自然休眠的季节。 来自辞典例句
• Until last year, she tried to use medicine recuperates symptoms, only better. 直到去年，她尝试着用中医调理，症状才有所好转。 来自互联网

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。