
I was in our local diner the other day (here’s some free publicity for Isabell’s on Route 5 in East Thetford — I LOVE that place!), where I happened upon Carmen Tarleton and her boyfriend (and my one-time banjo instructor) Sheldon Stein. Carmen became a nationally-known figure several years ago after her estranged husband broke into her house in my home town of Thetford, beat her with a baseball bat, and then poured industrial-strength lye over his face and much of her body. Doctors called it “the most horrific injury a human being could suffer.” Carmen spent the next three and a half months in a medically induced coma, and when she awoke, she was blind and permanently disfigured, with burns covering more than eighty percent of her body.
I don’t know how many surgeries Carmen has been through (at least several dozen), but she has maintained an almost-angelic temperament about her situation, going so far as to write a book about the attack and her life since, entitled “Overcome: Burned, Blinded and Blessed.”
Several months ago, Carmen underwent a face transplant. As she and Sheldon shared breakfast, all I could think was how blessed I was to be in her presence. She radiated grace. I am sure that she would rather not have been forced into the position that she is: serving as an inspiration for millions of people. But inspire me she does. What an amazing woman.
The New York Times had a very good article (and video) about her in today’s edition, which can be accessed here.