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Skeet Ulrich and me

Skeet Ulrich with a scar from a childhood sternotomy operation

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.

4 Responses to “Skeet Ulrich and me”

  1. Ani Whalen Says:

    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.

  2. Marie M Says:

    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.

  3. Paul L. Says:

    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!

  4. koby Says:

    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.

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