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t m c » p u l s e | m ay 2 0 1 9 24 The Face of Courage Once known as the "woman without a face," Carolyn Thomas helps other victims of domestic violence B y S h a n l e y P i e r c e W hen Carolyn Thomas arrived at the office of Eugene Alford, M.D., for a preoperative visit, he greeted her with a warm embrace. She had driven three hours from her home in Waco, Texas, to see the reconstructive plastic surgeon, a dear friend and mentor. Alford ushered Thomas into an exam room at the Houston Methodist Hospital Outpatient Center to inspect her face—a face he helped rebuild 14 years ago. Thomas had an infection near her eye and Alford planned to fix the problem by replacing an artifi- cial bone. Sitting in an exam room, Thomas, 48, gently peeled off her flesh-colored silicone prosthetic nose to reveal a deep chasm in the middle of her face—a hole where her nose used to be. It was a stark reminder of the devastating, violent night in 2003 that earned her the epithet "woman without a face." 'He was really trying to kill me' On Friday, Dec. 5, 2003, Carolyn Thomas' then-boyfriend, Terrence Dewaine Kelly, entered her home in a drug-induced rage—yelling hysterically about someone being in the apartment. Thomas and her mother tried to calm him down, but to no avail. He pulled out a .44 Magnum revolver, shot first at the ceiling and then again into the floor of Thomas' apartment. The second bullet entered the living room of Thomas' downstairs neighbor, who immedi- ately called the police. Upstairs, Kelly shot Thomas' mother in the abdomen. He dragged Thomas into the living room, held the gun to her head and pulled the trigger—shooting her in the face at point blank range. "The way he held the gun, I think he was really trying to take my life," Thomas said. "I don't think he was just trying to mess my face. He was really trying to kill me." The two met through a mutual friend in 1992 and started dating shortly afterward. There were warning signs early on; he was controlling and didn't want her hanging out with certain people or dressing a certain way. Three years into their relation- ship, Kelly physically assaulted Thomas for the first time. Violence and death threats continued over several years, culminating in that tragic December day. Leading up to the shooting, Kelly had smoked a "wet" cigarette made of marijuana soaked in embalming fluid, Thomas said, which can cause hallucinations, disorientation, impaired coordination, paranoia and visual disturbances. In March, Carolyn Thomas visited reconstructive plastic surgeon Eugene Alford, M.D., who helped rebuild her face 14 years ago.