By NOEL MURPHY
BRENDA Hoad wept with relief as the bandages came off and stitches were removed from her wounded nose.
After five months looking like, as she bemoaned, a “freak”, it was a long overdue return to normalcy for the Hamlyn Heights resident.
Mrs Hoad was left with a hideous gaping hole in the middle of her face after Barwon Health refused to carry out post-cancer surgery following a stand-off over her medical bills.
As an American citizen, Mrs Hoad was ineligible for Medicare. When she failed to pay her outstanding account with Barwon Health of around $6000 she was told she would have to pay $3500 upfront for reconstructive surgery.
Mrs Hoad said she was left suffering headaches, seeping fluid and blood running over her face and infection as she waited for a resolution to the stand-off.
But her facial repairs didn’t come from Barwon Health.
Belmont cosmetic surgeon Dr Anthony Dixon undertook the work – free of charge – after reading about Ms Hoad’s plight in the Independent.
“I don’t feel like a freak any more – he did a fantastic job,” Mrs Hoad said this week as she showed off Dr Dixon’s handiwork.
“I couldn’t believe it as he took the stitches out. I was crying as I saw it,” she said.
“I’ve got a nose again.
“I go to the shops and everyone who knows me, and who knows what it looked like before, just says, ‘Oh God, you finally got it fixed’.’’
