THE Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, has revealed that he broke every bone in his face apart from his lower jaw when a taxi in which he was travelling in London made an emergency stop (News, 4 October 2024).
Late last September, he was rushed to St Thomas’ Hospital, in Lambeth, and then moved to King’s College Hospital, in Denmark Hill, where he was treated by the specialist maxillofacial-trauma team.
Bishop Chessun told BBC London on Tuesday: “I had no face after the accident. The injuries were extensive. I wasn’t aware of them at the time. I was just aware of my face crumbling.”
The head of the team on the night of his accident was Professor Kathy Fan, who told him that the airbag had protected his skull, brain, and neck.
Professor Fan said that Bishop Chessun’s “entire upper jaw was hanging loose”, his left cheekbone had dropped, and both of his eye sockets were damaged.
In an eight-hour operation, Professor Fan and her team inserted seven titanium plates to rebuild the Bishop’s face.
She told the BBC: “I have a pretty amazing job. I always think it’s a real privilege to work on people’s faces: people trust us. Our face is our identity — people look at us and make judgement about us; so it’s important to recreate someone’s identity.”
With his face held together by pins and plates, Bishop Chessun returned to work at Christmas, three months after the accident. Nine months later, he is nearly fully recovered.
When reflecting on his accident, he said: “I think it made me look very differently at life. . . at what really matters. . . the importance of one’s health and well-being, not taking it for granted. . . and to value each moment. . .
“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 well-being. I had an underlying feeling that all would be well.”
