About David

David worked for many years as an industrial cleaner and travelled all over the UK with his work. Now he is no longer able to drive - he walks everywhere. 

One of David’s key hobbies is sailing. He recalls building a rowing boat in his woodwork class at boarding school and has many fond stories about fixing up sailing boats.

David took part in IMPRESSeD and found that the outcomes of the two ways of making facial prostheses were very different. He was keen to raise awareness about people with facial prostheses and have a positive impact on public understanding through I’m Still Me. 

When I first saw a doctor about five or six years ago, he gave me some cream for my nose and sent me to a specialist. They looked at me with a camera and said “There’s nothing there”.

But a week later I was told I needed to return to hospital. My eye was operated on and they took a bone out of my nose to remove a tumour saying “It could be cancerous”. It’s been a hard journey with lots of frustration. Sometimes you just want to sit and cry. 

The impact hasn’t just been physical, it changes your personality and affects your mental health too. I get emotional a lot. It’s been a very lonely experience and I wasn’t offered enough support during my treatment. 

The Maxillofacial Prosthetist rebuilt my face with a prosthesis as best as they could. It took about a month from start to finish for my first prosthesis to be made – they had to do a lot of poking around and spend a long time shaping it.

Having a prosthesis has been better than just having a plaster on my face. It brings you back to being human again. Children might think you’re a “monster” otherwise. I get stressed when people stare at me - I’m still a human being. 

“I get stressed when people stare at me.”

Over time, the prosthesis can get crusty; the edges change, and the colour fades and alters in the sun. One problem I’ve had is that my prosthesis can fall off. I had three implants placed to help secure the prosthesis. But the one at the top failed - they screwed it in but it came away from the bone. Because of this, I have to wear my glasses on top of the prosthesis to keep it secure and in place. 

I also find eating difficult because I have to take my denture out and if I take my glasses off my prosthetic nose wobbles. This all limits going out for dinner. I get self-conscious when I go out to eat with my partner, and we have to sit in the corner.

It’s a hidden part of the prosthetic journey. It’s more than an appearance thing – the functionality of your face changes too. 

I’ve had four prostheses, the last two as part of IMPRESSeD. During the study two ways of making prostheses were run hand in hand; I had two new prostheses made using either a computerised system or traditional moulds.

The computerised prosthesis was lighter, thinner and smaller than the traditional one. The traditionally made prosthesis was based on my own original nose and was bigger but I’ve lost several stone since my surgery. People say the smaller one looks better. 

I’ve found that some people can be horrible. They call you “plastic nose” or “rubber nose”. Children don’t understand and are more in-your-face with their comments. Sometimes teenagers ridicule you too. I think people need educating about the impact they can have when they speak to you. They should also be aware that these sorts of things could happen to them or someone they know if they had cancer or an injury. So I’m Still Me is a positive thing. 

“I like to get involved with research.”

My partner encouraged me to get involved in the study and the project. I like to get involved with research to try and prevent what happened to me from happening to other people.

I think people with facial prostheses should be on billboards. I’m not sure if I’d want to be on a billboard myself, but you have to be willing to do something if you want to have an impact.