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A beautiful young woman claims a £5,500 (~$7,095) nose job has made her feel like “a million dollars" after cruel comments comparing her to triangle-faced Disney character Phineas Flynn and a shark tainted her childhood.
Falling foul of hurtful name-calling throughout secondary school, recruitment officer Madison Cain, 20, first asked her parents, Julie and David, both 53, if she could have a new nose when she was just 16.
Concerned, they asked her to wait for a while but, aged 18, seeing her continued distress, they agreed to fund the operation – which she had in September 2019 and says changed her life.
Madison, of Failsworth, Greater Manchester, England, said:
“At secondary school, other children would point and laugh saying that I looked like Phineas Flynn, from the Disney animation 'Phineas and Ferb', whose whole head is one big triangle."
“You know what kids are like, they can be so cruel. Soon the nickname caught on and I was being called it non-stop."
“If it wasn't that, people would whisper and shout, 'Big nose,' at me. It was so upsetting."
She continued:
“But now, after the operation, I feel like a completely different person. It's the best thing I've ever done."
Madison only developed a complex about her nose after leaving primary school.
Recalling a particularly cruel comment, when she was 13, she said:
“One day, a boy said in front of everyone, 'When you do backstroke at the pool does everybody run out screaming shark, because of your nose?'"
She continued:
“It was like that throughout my teens. The cruel comments never stopped."
Suffering with low moods and social withdrawal because of the jibes, Madison's self-confidence hit rock bottom.
She said:
“It had a massive impact on my mental health."
“I was constantly worried about the size of my nose and the fact that it was bigger than everyone else's."
“I had a great bunch of friends from primary school who were a proper support network for me."
“But I was terrified of meeting new people, as I worried that they'd laugh at my nose."
And when her friends started going out on dates, she was far too self-conscious to talk to boys.
“It was awful," she explained. “Everyone always talks about how their school years are the best of their life, but for me they were some of the worst."
“I didn't go on a date with anyone because of my nose."
She continued:
“Everyone I hung around with knew me by the cruel nicknames I'd been given and the thought of dating was far too intimidating."
Luckily, when she began studying for a diploma in travel and tourism at a local college in 2017, her peers were more grown up and the taunts stopped.
But the damage was done and, until she changed her nose, she felt sure she would never find true happiness.
And, despite asking her to wait when she asked if she could have surgery at 16, when Madison reached 18 in September 2018, her BT engineer dad and NHS budget manager mom agreed to pay for her nose job.
So, in April 2019, she had an assessment at cosmetic surgery clinic Transform Hospital Group Pines Hospital in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester.
“The main thing I remember from the appointment is my sense of relief at someone honestly understanding why I wanted to change my nose," she said.
She continued:
“For years people had brushed it off as something that wasn't that bad, but finally someone was seeing it from my point of view."
“I told them I wasn't happy with the size of my bridge and they said they could fix it. That's about all I can remember, as I was so excited."
With the end of her studies in sight, Madison had two week-long vacations booked over the summer to celebrate with friends – in Kavos, Greece, and Magaluf, Mallorca – so booked in to have the procedure when she returned in September.
“I could have done it before going away, but it was going to be a boozy summer and I didn't want to damage my new nose!" she laughed.
A bag of nerves the night before the procedure on September 30, she became convinced she would not like the result.
But, discharged on the evening of the hour-long procedure, she then waited 10 days before having her bandages removed and seeing the results.
“I couldn't sleep for the first two nights after surgery," she explained. “It wasn't because of pain – I just wasn't used to the splint, but I could already tell that it was a completely different shape."
“My dad took me to have the bandages taken off. When the nurse removed them, I broke down in tears."
“My dad thought I was upset, but I was overcome with joy. I looked like a completely different person. It was perfect."
Keen to show off her new nose, Madison uploaded a before and after picture to Instagram – describing herself as “blessed" – and received over 600 comments of support.
To celebrate, that night she went to a John Newman gig at Manchester's O2 Apollo.
“I just felt different – even that very first night with the bruising and stitches still there," she said.
She continued:
“Before, when people looked at me, I was convinced it was because of my nose."
“Now, I just didn't care. It was the perfect way to celebrate."
Soon men began noticing Madison's newfound confidence, too.
She said:
“I think it was more as I'd stopped hiding in the corner when I went out with the girls than because I'd had a new nose."
“I started being spoken to by boys and it felt great."
“I really do feel like a new woman and have finally had the confidence to accept offers to go out on a date."
While she is yet to fall in love, Madison is now making the most of dating.
“I'm really enjoying making up for lost time and seeing what it is like out there," she said.
“I've been on a few dates and was seeing one particular person for a few months, although it didn't quite work out."
She concluded:
“To anybody else out there who has been thinking about have cosmetic surgery after years of insecurity, I can only say do it!"
“It's the best thing I've ever done. It might have cost £5,500, but the benefits are worth a million."
To find out more about Transform Hospital Group, click here.