国家地理 移植的脸如何改变了一名女子的生活(10)

Katie became their full-time¹ job. Whenever she was in the hospital, one of them was nearly always with her, day and night. When she wasn't in the hospital, their days were filled with doctor's appointments, rehab sessions, and the search, always, for something new that could help her. Acupuncture². Massage³. A chiropractor. A personal trainer. A nutritionist. Music therapy. Spiritual and healing services. They googled for information, posted updates for friends on a Facebook page, and used a dry-erase calendar to track their schedule.

照顾凯蒂成了他们的全职工作。每当她住院的时候，家人中需要有人日夜陪伴着她。当她不在医院的时候，他们的日子里充满了医生的预约、康复治疗，以及总是在寻找新的可以帮助她的东西。针灸、按摩、脊椎指压治疗、私人教练、营养师、音乐疗法、精神和治疗服务。他们在谷歌上搜索信息，在Facebook页面上发布朋友的更新信息，并使用可擦日历来跟踪他们的日程安排。

Two years after Katie arrived at the clinic, I met her and her parents in the waiting area of the plastic surgery department, a large, sunny room that marks one of the many odd crossroads of modern American medicine. Here, patients suffering significant facial disfigurement and scarring wait for their appointments alongside buffed and gleaming clients who come in for Botox injections and face-lift consultations⁴.

在凯蒂来到诊所两年后，我在整形外科的候诊室见到了她及其父母。整形外科是个阳光充足的大房间，代表着现代美国医学众多奇怪的分支。在这里，面部严重毁容和瘢痕病人在等待他们的预约，与他们一起来的还有肉毒杆菌注射和整容咨询的光鲜客户。

Katie arrived in a wheelchair pushed by her father. She wore a surgical⁵ mask over the lower half of her face and a brightly colored head scarf. She looked small and vulnerable, though I soon learned she wasn't. She took my hand and said a cheerful hello, and as we chatted, I saw that in this space, at least, she seemed entirely⁶ comfortable. Maybe that's because she didn't stand out. In one way or another, everyone there was dissatisfied with his or her face.

凯蒂坐着父亲推的轮椅来了。她下半部脸被外科口罩遮住，同时戴着色彩鲜艳的头巾。凯蒂看起来又小又脆弱，尽管我很快就知道她并非看起来那样。她拉着我的手，愉快地跟我打了个招呼。当我们聊天的时候，我发现至少在这个空间里，她看起来很舒服，也许这是因为她并未显得独立特行。无论如何，这里的每个人都对自己的脸感觉不满意。

When I visited the family at the Big Mac House, as Robb calls it, Katie was almost always in a recliner, tilted⁷ back and covered in fleece blankets. Alesia tended to her nonstop, dispensing⁸ medications, bringing her water in a child's sippy cup, rubbing her hands and feet with scented⁹ lotions¹⁰, and heating slippers¹¹ and eye masks in the microwave.

当我去巨无霸汉堡店拜访这家人时，凯蒂几乎总是躺在躺椅上，向后倾斜，身上盖着羊毛毯子。阿莱西亚不停地给她配药，把水倒进孩子的吸管杯里，用有香味的洗液揉手和脚，用微波炉加热拖鞋和眼罩。

Katie usually listened passively to the conversation but sometimes interjected a comment or a joke, giving me a glimpse of the funny Katie her family frequently described. One day we were talking about religion, which is central to their lives. What happened to Katie shook their faith a bit but didn't kill it. It also didn't kill their marriage -- a common repercussion¹² when a child dies or has overwhelming medical problems. Where Alesia is emotional, Robb tends toward intellectual discourse¹³. He has a bushy beard that enhances his sagelike manner, and when Alesia is fired up, he gazes at her with a tender smile.

凯蒂通常被动地听着谈话，但有时会插话或开个玩笑，让我一瞥她家人经常描述的“有趣凯蒂”真容。有一天，我们开始谈论宗教，这是他们生活的中心。发生在凯蒂身上的事动摇了他们的信念，但并没有摧毁它。这也没有扼杀他们的婚姻，孩子夭折或出现严重的医疗问题时，总会伴随着婚姻崩溃。阿莱西亚的情绪容易激动，而罗柏则倾向于理智对话。他有着浓密的胡须，这增强了他的智者风度。当阿莱西亚生气时，他会温柔地微笑看着她。

1 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

2 acupuncture   

n.针灸，针刺法，针疗法

参考例句：

• Written records show that acupuncture dates back to the Song Dynasty.文字记载表明，宋朝就已经有了针灸。
• It's known that acupuncture originated in China.众所周知，针灸起源于中国。

3 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

4 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

8 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 lotions   

n.洗液，洗剂，护肤液( lotion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do not use lotions or oils to lubricate the skin. 不要用润肤剂或油类来润滑皮肤。 来自辞典例句
• They were experts at preserving the bodies of the dead by embalming them with special lotions. 他们具有采用特种药物洗剂防止尸体腐烂的专门知识。 来自辞典例句

11 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

12 repercussion   

n.[常pl.](不良的)影响，反响，后果

参考例句：

• After being put out,service has received very good market repercussion.服务推出后收到了非常好的市场反响。
• The president's death had unexpected repercussion.总统的逝世引起出乎意料的反响。

13 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。