KANSAS CITY, Mo. -
One look in the mirror gives a Kansas City man a 150 reasons to be angry. A senseless knife attack has left stitches across one entire side of Paul Burns' face. What he thought was a closed fist punch packed a whole lot more.
150 stitches now stretch from Burns' mustache to his neck, all because of a single punch.
"He was swinging at my cheekbone and again all I saw was a fist," Burns said.
Burns had no idea the fist hid a razor, box cutter or something incredibly sharp.
"It wasn't even until after, they got in the car and sped off, that I realized that I'd been bleeding because my friends were telling me I'm bleeding," Burns said. "I was ready to go chase after them."
Burns said the dispute was over a no parking sign around 2:40 a.m. Sunday morning. Burns' friend told a man and his girlfriend that they weren't allowed to park in front of the building.
"And it got really really ugly, words were exchanged, they tried to come up the porch," Burns said.
Minutes later, Burns found himself in the ER at St. Luke's where doctors spent two and half hours sewing his cheek back together.
"It didn't apparently, didn't hit any nerves, I'm lucky I have some fat, because it could've hit the carotid or the jugular," Burns said.
Burns still isn't sure who he's angrier with, his attacker or his friend.
"My friend was the self-appointed block monitor and he's the one who aggravated this whole thing," Burns said. "I mean, if he had just let him go, the worst I'd have is a hang-over on Sunday morning."
Doctors told Burns that he will only have minimal scarring and his stitches come out Friday.
150 stitches now stretch from Burns' mustache to his neck, all because of a single punch.
"He was swinging at my cheekbone and again all I saw was a fist," Burns said.
Burns had no idea the fist hid a razor, box cutter or something incredibly sharp.
"It wasn't even until after, they got in the car and sped off, that I realized that I'd been bleeding because my friends were telling me I'm bleeding," Burns said. "I was ready to go chase after them."
Burns said the dispute was over a no parking sign around 2:40 a.m. Sunday morning. Burns' friend told a man and his girlfriend that they weren't allowed to park in front of the building.
"And it got really really ugly, words were exchanged, they tried to come up the porch," Burns said.
Minutes later, Burns found himself in the ER at St. Luke's where doctors spent two and half hours sewing his cheek back together.
"It didn't apparently, didn't hit any nerves, I'm lucky I have some fat, because it could've hit the carotid or the jugular," Burns said.
Burns still isn't sure who he's angrier with, his attacker or his friend.
"My friend was the self-appointed block monitor and he's the one who aggravated this whole thing," Burns said. "I mean, if he had just let him go, the worst I'd have is a hang-over on Sunday morning."
Doctors told Burns that he will only have minimal scarring and his stitches come out Friday.
