'I've been given a second life' cries Lembit Opik
FORMER Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik says he has been given a “second life” after facial surgery to fix his wonky jaw.
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik before and after facial surgery
The politician, who has dated weathergirl Sian Lloyd and Cheeky Girl Gabriela Irimia, said yesterday he wept after the reconstruction surgery to repair injuries sustained in a horrific paragliding accident 18 years ago.
Speaking on This Morning, he said: “I fell about 30 yards and broke my back in 12 places, my ribs, my sternum, my jaw.
"We didn’t realise I’d smashed my jaw, I was that close to death.”
I feel like I’ve been given a second life, perhaps because I feel so confident about being symmetrical
He said the way his broken jaw healed was “frankly a nightmare... constant pain, not able to eat properly and my teeth were disintegrating”.
Before the “life-changing” surgery in January he joked that afterwards, “I’d like to think I will look like George Clooney”.
Surgeons moved his jaw half an inch to the left and raised it slightly.
Opik's past conquests include weathergirl Sian Lloyd and Cheeky Girl Gabriela Irimia
Opik admitted his recovery had been lonely
“They basically cut the bottom of my face off and put it back on again,” he said. He has one more operation to come.
Talking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, he revealed he burst into tears on waking up after the operation and was receiving counselling to adjust to his new face.
“I’d carried 18 years of that near-death experience with me and I cried my eyes out,” he said.
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Opik was left with a wonky jaw after a paragliding accident 18 years ago
He also admitted that recovering on his own was lonely.
“It’s solitary. Initially I had great friends looking after me but I’m on my own most nights.”
Mr Opik, who lost his Welsh seat in 2010, added: “It’s given me space to think. I’m 50 now.
I feel like I’ve been given a second life, perhaps because I feel so confident about being symmetrical.”