I HID MY FACE FOR YEARS—UNTIL THE DAY THEY HANDED ME THAT MEDAL
There was a time when I couldn’t look in the mirror without flinching. The man staring back at me didn’t feel like me anymore. After the explosion, everything changed—my appearance, my voice, even how strangers reacted to me. For months, eating was difficult. Sleep rarely came. The stares, the whispers, the subtle pity—it all stung…