Yes, I admit, I googled “skeet ulrich shirtless” last night. But no, it was not to satisfy some latent homoerotic desires for the star of Jericho. It started as a completely innocent conversation about movies and television and just progressed from there.
Somewhere along the way I read that Skeet Ulrich had open heart surgery when he was young, which means he had a sternotomy, which means he has the same scar on his chest that I do. Unfortunately his seems to have healed much nicer than mine did, which isn’t a surprise since I know mine didn’t do as well as the doctors expected. You can barely see it in that photo but its the only one I could find. And no, I will not post a photo of mine to compare.
I know plenty of seniors have sternotomies, but finding another young person who has had one is a bit like Amalthea finding a second unicorn. The nurses always said it was refreshing to give needles to someone with firm flesh on their arm. I saw someone in the university gym locker room last semester with the same distinctive scar and I had a strong instinct to say hi, but it probably would have been weird so I said nothing.
It’s definitely a small detail of a person’s life, that they have a scar on their chest. It is at most a story to tell, but one that is worn forever like a tattoo whether its an interesting one or not. But as inconsequential as that detail may be, it’s still nice to know that I’m not the only one who has it.
Please email me. I’m 29 and been through more than a couple open-hearts. I don’t know many, but there are some out there. It would be good to communicate.
Ani
http://www.myspace.com/kneadsomebody
p.s. If it’s not a good time, I was thankful for your blog.
You’re not alone ! i have one too ! It’s very very sexy i think! On Skeet too of course….
I’m very happy that you post this photo ! I will use it on my own blog …thanks.
Im a 19 year old who’s getting a sternotomy next week for hodgekins…interesting outlook…considering ive been a chubby kid and a bit overweight w/ stretch marks i guess ill get used to it, i hardly consider the stretch marks now but am more self-conscious over the fact i dont have rock hard abs then what i do have but what makes us unique makes us better…thanks!
I was looking up sternotomy xrays and came across your entry above. My daughter had to have open heart surgery when she was 9 years old. Her scar was perfect for about a month and then she started to keloid. She was left with a scar that looked like the biggest worm you have ever seen. One year later she had steroid injections into the scar. It looks much better. It is now flat. It is still red but still it is an improvement. People say how lucky she is to be alive and of course that is true but I also know how hard it is to be a girl. She will be a teenager in a few years and it is difficult enough just being a teenager let alone one with a big scar down the center of your chest.
I just wanted you to know you are not the only one out there and if you are anything like my daughter you are more beautiful and more magical than any unicorn could ever be.
I turned 25 years old just after leaveing the ICU following my median sernotomy. I had a large tumor removed from my chest. At first I was super worried about have a scar right down the middle of my cleavege. But now that is is over I could care less. I am glad I am still walking about the earth. I kinda like it. It makes me unique and I have a super cool story that goes behind it. Usually people that have had one or knows somebody that has stops to ask me about my scar. It is a great way to connect to others. One time I was walking out ‘of the mall and a man that was walking in pointed at my chest and said, “Aww, did somebody break your heart?” haha! I did not even tell him that it was not heart surgery!
I HAVE ONE TOO! i’m 28. i’ve had two open-heart surgeries. one when i was six and one just last may. i’ve been looking all over trying to find someone else. i like to swap stories. email me http://www.myspace.com/healing_heart_hope
Hey, im another girl who bares a scar between my cleavage after open heart surgery for correction of a hole in the heart when aged 4.
As everyone says, we should be grateful that we live in times where our hearts could be corrected and still live to tell the tale.
However, I’m not gonna lie to you, it does hurt knowing that you can’t wear a bikini or low-cut top without enduring lots of stares and double-takes. But I guess it is an interesting conversation point, and moreover an important and special part of us. Nice to know there are others like us around…as it’s hard to not feel different and unattractive at times. But I guess Skeet Ulrik shows that you can have a chest scar n still be sexy!
Hey I have a scar too is from last September. I kind of hate it is a little bit red I mean more pink. But know im trying to stay in the sun as much as I can cause I know i hpe is gonna get whiter I have another scar from 2007 which it get really white after the summer.Im just a little bit scared that guys will not really like it and im scared to go in bikini,but what to do. This is me
Hey. I’m 23 and had a sternotomy about a month ago to remove a benign tumor from within my chest. I was so worried about the tumor being malignant at the time that I never even considered what my life would be like with this scar. Knowing that there are so many young people out there in the same boat puts me at ease. Thanks for sharing guys.
My brother had serious and life threatening (not to mention experimental) surgery as an infant. Needless to say, he not only has a stomach full of scars but also claw fingernails on several fingers (due to blood clots which resulted in clubbing of the fingers).
Fast forward 30 plus years and my date (now husband) and I went to my brother’s house for dinner. I began talking about the scars on my date’s stomach and arms (due to being thrown from a vehicle and dragged under the car about 50 feet) and how he was embarrassed to bare his chest because of seams and scars all over his chest and back. So my brother removed his shirt and proudly displayed his quilting of scars, at which point my date reciprocated in kind.
My brother tells people curious beach people that he jumped on a grenade and saved his platoon.
My husband mows the lawn shirtless and just doesn’t care who sees his scars.