BBC News has reported on how the Bishop of Southwark, The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, had his face rebuilt by a specialist team at King’s College Hospital after a traffic incident in which he was severely injured.
“I think it made me look very differently at life… at what really matters… the importance of one’s health and wellbeing, not taking it for granted… and to value each moment,” Bishop Christopher told BBC London’s Political Editor Karl Mercer.
Last September, the taxi the Bishop was travelling in came to an abrupt halt and he smashed his face against the internal screen, breaking every bone in his face apart from his lower jaw.
“I had no face after the accident,” he told Mercer. “The injuries were extensive, I wasn’t aware of them at the time, I was just aware of my face crumbling.”
The Bishop was rushed to St Thomas’ Hospital, then to a specialist maxillofacial trauma team at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill, south-east London. He credits this team, led by Professor Kathy Fan, with rebuilding his face and restoring his identity, enabling him to return to work just before Christmas 2024.
“We have the ability to try and put people back when they’ve been unfortunate enough to be injured. Our face is our identity – people look at us and make judgment about us so it’s important to recreate someone’s identity,” said Professor Fan.
Nine months on, Bishop Christopher is almost fully recovered and can’t praise the medical teams who gave him back his face enough: “People look at your face – this is how they make contact with you – so your facial identity is a crucial part of things.
“I think that sense of being supported by the prayers of those in my diocese, those who knew me, those who cared for me, made an enormous difference.
“I think not just to morale but to confidence and sense of wellbeing. I had an underlying feeling that all would be well.”
