83 Year-old Great Grandma Gets Breast Implants

This story really makes me sad.

Marie Kolstad, of Orange County, is the mother of four, the grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother to 12. Last month, Kolstad decided she needed a little boost in her breasts. So she spent $8,000 for a three-hour procedure. She figured her family wouldn’t approve, so she didn’t tell them about the surgery until a day before she was scheduled to go under the knife. Kolstad is not unique. The New York Times reports that a growing segment of the population, namely seniors, is opting for age-defying plastic surgery like never before. And Kolstad told the newspaper that her doctor has patients even older than she. One NY plastic surgeon said nearly ten percent of all procedures involve people over 65. Continue reading.

The quote that really bothers me is this one:

Kolstad, a property manager, told the Times that it wasn’t about lifting her boobs as much as it was about lifting her self-esteem. “It was more about looking in the mirror and liking who I am,” she said.

Surgery isn't going to fix this problem. She needs to find out who she really is and that trying to find her lost youth in dangerous elective surgery isn't the way to do that. She is a beloved daughter of God and her body is a gift. The age in her body is a sign that her life was not worthless, but full of experiences that help to form her.

We have lost an understanding of our worth. Life is so much more than our society tells us.

If you want to see one of the most beautiful women who has ever lived, then look at this picture of Mother Teresa. She has a big nose, a wrinkly face, and features that most in our culture would say are "ugly". I say she is beautiful just the way God made her. Her beauty is found not in the way the world looks at her, but in the  way God, her Father, looks at her. He looks at her with love and sees the most amazing thing He has ever created - his daughter.

This is the same way He looks at you and me. There is no need to "improve" our bodies with such surgeries, unless it also restores our health.

 Wikimedia-Commons User Túrelio, Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0-de"

I have more to say about plastic surgery in a previous post entitled - The Catholic Church and Plastic Surgery.

Please pray for our culture that worships youth, pleasure, and lust. Pray for this woman as well.