Episode 46: Rebuilding My Face

Liss’N Kristi

This week, Alissa gives Kristi a full-face makeover, and the rest of us are treated to a makeup tutorial.

But while we watch, Kristi tells how a routine ENT procedure led to a staph infection, multiple surgeries, and extensive reconstruction on one side of her face. She endured years of surgery and recovery.

Some people are quick to see a scar or a blemish, without knowing the back story. Characteristically, Kristi describes the emotional and physical toll of endless visits to specialists and surgical procedures, with her unique sense of humor.

STORIES

00:00 - Start

00:04 - Checking that "vulnerability box"

00:35 - Everybody's so quick to see a blemish

00:58 - Almost 20 years ago, I got an infection, and fought it for 4-5 years

02:20 - I got staph one one side of my face, constantly fighting nose bleeds

03:46 - "The man keeps rubbing on my ears" - where to go if we have to rebuild

04:45 - In Los Angeles, they replaced my cheek

05:55 - You have a two year old girl at home and the infection is growing

06:45 - 13 hours of surgery

08:00 - Bone v Cartilage

08:23 - "I had 2-thousand stitches inside my mouth"

09:35 - Judgment on social media

10:02 - The lip: "It's lumpy and it just lives there"

12:05 - My doctor in California said: "I put people back together"

13:03 - I woke up, and I looked like the Elephant Man

14:03 - Mashed potatoes and broth

16:47 - Everything they built has become infected

18:05 - I had a picc line every evening for nine months

21:11 - Trust me, fat lips were not fashionable

22:02 - Were the years of antibiotics a factor in your strokes?

22:45 - Makeup tips and tricks from Alyssa

25:05 - Foundation

26:09 - Everyone says don't use talc

28:00 - Makeup for the bride

29:00 - Take pics of your feet and make some money