''Tatum came to Louisville two years ago suffering from mucormycosis, ''a very devastating and lifethreatening
infection'' that progresses rapidly within 24 to 48 hours, said Dr. Jeffrey M. Bumpous, an ear, nose and throat surgeon
who worked on the case. The infection already had claimed Tatum's vision in both eyes and was beginning to affect
other parts of his face. ''The lining of the inside of his nose and nasal cavities, his palate and even the skin of his face
was beginning to turn black'' from decay, Bumpous said.

At Bumpous' urging, Tatum underwent radical removal of the infection -- similar to removing a cancer -- and began
receiving toxic antifungal medicine, the doctor said.

''We removed bone and soft tissue from below the eyebrows at the base of the skull, all the way to the hard palate, so
we had exposure of tissue from the brain to the hard palate,'' Bumpous said.

The infection was cured, but a daunting recovery lay ahead.

''I slept for two months in a coma, not knowing anything, and when I woke up, hell, there was a roomful of doctors,''
Tatum said.

Dr. Wayne Stadelmann, a plastic surgeon on the case, said it was clear that Tatum would be left with a devastating
defect. But a team of doctors began assessing what could be done to repair the damage. Doctors then set out to
create a platform upon which a prosthesis could be attached to Tatum's face. They took a bone from Tatum's leg
along with a piece of overlying skin and reconstructed his hard and soft palate so he could speak and eat. That
surgery also provided a bony structure to apply the prosthesis to later.

''They undertook this knowing that we had no insurance and our ability to pay was very limited,'' she said.

Mark Tatum of Owensboro, Kentucky got a new face in
January. His real face was eaten away by a flesh-eating fungus
which invaded his sinuses in 1999, leaving him with a gaping
hole where his eyes and nose once were.

The face is a removable acrylic prosthesis covered with silicone
''skin'' was developed by a by Dr. Zafrulla Khan, director of
dental oncology and maxillofacial prosthodontics at the James
Graham Brown Cancer Center and aUniversity of Louisville
physician.

The section, which was modeled to look like his 'old' face,
attaches to the midsection of his face with magnets and a
titanium frame.

Next time you think YOU have it rough.....

In all, Tatum would undergo 11 operations to prepare for the new
face. The version that Tatum now wears was given to him
Friday, Khan said, and ''it's still a work in progress. We have a
few more adjustments and modifications to do to this, so
hopefully, in the next three to four weeks he will be (the)
complete person that we envision him to be.''

''It's been a long two years, but he's finally got his prosthesis and
it looks good,'' said his wife, Nancy Tatum, adding that the fact
that he can talk again is miracle enough for her.

''After he had the original surgery, he couldn't speak or drink or
eat, and that was probably the greatest achievement was when
they did the surgery that allowed him to have speech again and
to do normal things like drink and eat,'' she said.

The prosthesis itself cost $6,000 to $8,000, Khan said.

Initially uninsured, Mark Tatum now has Social Security and Medicaid, his wife said, but there are myriad uncovered
expenses, including nearly $300 a month for medicine and cleaning products needed for his face.

But Nancy Tatum praised U of L Hospital and its staff for not letting money affect their level of care.

And I give a lot of credit to Mark's dedicated and loving wife. A lot of people leave for a hell of a lot less.