This is Tamara

This is Tamara's story.

shortly after i was first born, i became unable to hold down milk or water or nourishment of any kind. i would throw it all up, literally puking the milk or water across the room (what doctors call 'projectile vomiting') shortly after i was fed. my small town family doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong but was worried that i would get very ill or even die from not being able to digest any food.
Eventually he contacted another doctor who suggested that it might be a rare condition, which normally occurs in caucasian males, called hypertrophic pyloric stenosis or HPA. in HPA, there is a thickening of the pyloric muscle below the stomach that makes it difficult or impossible for food to pass through - doctors call the thickened pyloric muscle the 'pyloric olive.' the treatment for this is a pyloromyotomy - a surgical procedure where an incision is made in the pyloric olive to allow food to pass through.
I had my surgery at sickkids in toronto, about 2 hours from my home town - it was a success! of course i don't remember any of this; all that remains is a large scar above my belly button that has grown along with me my entire life. i have never thought of it as ugly or abnormal, it has always been there, a part of me. people that have seen it have always thought it was neat. i remember getting my belly button pierced when i was 16, and the technician thought my scar was so cool - but i had honestly forgotten it was even there!
As an adult, i have quite a few digestive problems, and interestingly i cannot throw up at all now, even at my sickest! my scar can also be sensitive at times, especially if my stomach is upset. but all of this is part of me - and the more i learn about my own body the more i learn about who i am...

This is Sandra

Sanda Jeppeson (of the critically aclaimed novel, Kiss Painting -- see http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2003-08-28/books_reviews.php ) has just let me know that she is planning to write a piece about this photograph. She is working on a collective 'narrative corpse' to be presented at the May 2007 'Women Writing Reading' Conference in Edmonton (http://www.crcstudio.arts.ualberta.ca/wwr_conference/). I can't wait to see what comes out of it.