After the fire I was very fortunate to have a very large support system. Hundreds of people ralleyed around. Relatives, Neighbors, and Friends from both my Arts Community, and the "Real" world were there when I needed them. I am neurotic enough that when all those people insisted how wonderful I was....I believed them. I actually developed an inflated Ego. At a time when I could have developed a very negative self-image, I was actually getting a "Swelled Head".

          I come from a very "Disfunctional" background, and my work on those issues has been a much higher proirity with me than my burns. My insecurities and fears were there all my life they didn't start with the fire, so I decided I'd best heal them first. Sorting out these feelings is a very complicated, sometimes painful, but always worthwhile endeaver.

          Although I don't like the way I look after being burned, maybe because my creativity was more of an identity for me than my appearance, I made the decision to get on with my life as an artist rather than explore extensive plastic surgery.