At 16, he got an endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy to correct his excessive facial blushing.
He's now 40 and still suffering the side effects from the surgery; he can't feel emotions.
I couldn't do the things I wanted to do: feel comfortable approaching a girl, speak in front of the class, do drama.
AdvertisementThe surgery is most often sought to mitigate excessive sweating (usually of the palms), but sometimes it's used for facial blushing.
The side effects have lasted decadesThe surgery took less than an hour, and it has changed my whole life.
Persons:
He's, —, John Larsen, it'd, wasn't, I'd, It'd, There's, who've, It's, I'm, I've
Organizations:
Service, ETS