'Body Parts': Allison Vest helps Daniel gain facial symmetry after car accident
Every part of your body plays an integral role -- from function to appearance; it is all there for a reason. So when a person loses a part of themselves, it can genuinely feel like they've lost who they are. But that's where Anaplastologist Allison Vest steps in, as she helps people with prosthetic rehabilitation, As per the synopsis of the series -- "Anaplastologist Allison Vest creates amazing, lifelike prosthetics for patients who have missing or deformed body parts. Taking on unique and extreme cases, Allison melds medicine and artistry to help her patients both functionally and psychologically."
So far, Allison has helped change many lives, and it seems like there is no prosthetic too big or small for her. Allison has crafted them all from nipples to noses, hands and ears. But now, a seemingly small prosthetic proves to be an interesting challenge for the anaplastologist.
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41-year-old Daniel from Boulder, Colorado, visited Allison with the hope of getting a prosthetic for his face. Daniel's story is all about second changes -- he was always an emotional child, and when his parents got divorced when he was in 2nd grade, it certainly impacted him. He began drinking and doing drugs in the 7th grade but toned it down by age 18. He then went to college, got married and divorced. However, his father's death changed everything -- he began drinking heavily again.
This led to the accident that changed his life forever -- Daniel was drunk, driving down a canyon at 100 miles an hour, which led to his fatal accident. While he survived the accident, Daniel was left with 'facial degloving' while he survived the accident where his skin and tissue were ripped away from his face. While he lost his left eye, the doctors were able to graft skin from his thighs onto his face. However, it left him with no symmetry, which he hoped Allison could rectify through an eyebrow prosthetic.
Allison, too, noted that she had never seen a case as extreme as Daniel's. She understood just how important eyebrows are to the symmetry of the face and decided to use some of Daniel's own hair to craft him a brow. When it came to delivery day, both she and daniel were nervous, seeing that this could possibly change the way Daniel looked. Although Allison had to make a few adjustments to the piece, she was able to place it on Daniel. He was thrilled with the outcome, noting that he felt like his face was symmetrical for the first time in years.
Catch 'Body Parts' on TLC on Wednesdays, at 10pm ET/PT.
