7 years after much of his face was surgically removed, Donnie Fritts shares the story of what gives him hope.
After Donnie Fritts was diagnosed with a rare cancer, ameloblastic carcinoma, he was given an ultimatum: he would need to have much of his face surgically removed, or he would die. The decision was an easy one to make. The aftermath was far more difficult.
Donnie was frightened the first time he looked in the mirror after the surgery. He had no nose or upper lip, and much of his forehead had been removed. “I looked terrible, I looked like a monster,” he told TODAY. “If I scared my own self, what was I going to do to other people?”
Donnie was afraid of the looks he would receive when he went out in public, so he rarely left his home. It was a dark and difficult time. Fortunately, his wife Sharon stayed by his side all the while.
Sharon never felt bothered by what had become of her husband’s face. “His beauty is he’s a giving person, a loving person,” she said.
But finally, Donnie has been able to step back out of the shadows, thanks to Robert Barron, a former CIA disguise specialist, who hand-crafted a custom prosthetic nose for him. Although his health insurance wouldn’t cover the surgery, Sharon and a group of Donnie’s friends raised enough money from a fundraiser to cover the cost.
He’s also had surgery to reconstruct his upper lip and palate, so that he can eat solid foods again. In November, he enjoyed his first Thanksgiving dinner in the six years since his first surgery.
Donnie has a new face, and a new life. He can go out in public again without attracting gawkers, and he’s been cancer-free for seven years. But his greatest inspiration comes from Sharon’s love for him.
“To see this love that endured, and was able to tackle this as a couple and come out the other side ... the medicine ends up being a small part of the recovery,” said NBC chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman.