Thomas Hewitt Medical Analysis / Headcanons?? Because I Love Him

Thomas Hewitt Medical Analysis / Headcanons?? Because I love him

TW: Self-mutilation, Hoyt mention {very very brief}, typical canon activities, self-harm?, skin conditions,

Very poor editing, my apologies -

Speech:

I’ve seen many people assume that Thomas either A.) Doesn’t speak by choice; B.) Can’t speak from vocal {cord} issues; Or C.) A combination of the two / his facial deformity. I agree with everyone else but I’d also like to add a potential reason: I’m pretty sure Thomas was diagnosed with ‘metal deterioration’ of some sort in the introduction scene {2006/The Beginning}, and considering this was the mid-late 1900’s, knowledge on mental health was very little compared to now, especially in such a small town. Thomas could possibly be neurodivergent, maybe high-function autism but even then, Thomas could simply have a condition called Speech Apraxia/Apraxia of Speech/AOS/CAS. “In CAS, the brain has trouble planning for speech movement. The brain isn't able to properly direct the movements needed for speech. The speech muscles aren't weak, but the muscles don't form words the right way.” - Mayo Clinic. This could’ve been amplified by his facial deformity. I don’t think it’s irrational to think Thomas can speak, or speaks scarcely, but it’s also not irrational to think Thomas just doesn’t speak. I don’t think it’s a vocal cord issue as Thomas can make sounds pretty well {Considering he screams/yells/yelps at times in the 2003 remake, and even ‘howls’ in the 2006 version after he gets stabbed by Chrissie.} This is just a thought though, I could be wrong.

Skin Condition:

In a behind-the-scenes video {which can be found on youtube}, one of the crew members said Thomas had an extreme form of skin cancer. Now, this could very well be true, but if it was a real-world condition, Thomas would either be bed-ridden, hooked to a machine constantly, or dead. This condition could be made up, but I’ve found two possible real-world conditions which Thomas may have. 

Cutaneous Lupus {CLE}. “Cutaneous lupus is one type of lupus — an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in different body tissues. “Cutaneous lupus,” which means skin lupus, affects your skin. Inflammation in your skin causes a variety of symptoms — most often a red, scaly rash. These symptoms are triggered by sunlight exposure.” - Cleveland Clinic. This, as most skin conditions, can be localized, meaning they’re only in one area. In Thomas’ case, this is his face. This could also occur in his scalp, neck, and ears for all we know. CLE is also not contagious.

___

What is CLE? 

“Cutaneous lupus, or skin lupus, is an autoimmune disease that affects your skin, causing skin rashes. Autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body tissues. In cutaneous lupus, your immune system attacks your skin cells, causing chronic inflammation in your skin. This manifests as a recognizable rash, often with related symptoms like itching, irritation or swelling.” - Cleveland Clinic

2. Pustular Psoriasis. Now, this diagnosis doesn’t make the most sense until you see the actual ‘photo’ of Thomas’ face. A photo {Which is shown below} is from the 2006/The Beginning behind-the-scenes’ on youtube. This looks A LOT like Pustular Psoriasis to me; Though I could be very wrong. “Symptoms of pustular psoriasis include pustules (white or yellow, pus-filled, painful bumps) that may be surrounded by inflamed or reddened/discolored skin. The pus in pustules is caused by inflammation and is not contagious. People with plaque psoriasis or other types of psoriasis may also develop pustular psoriasis” - The National Psoriasis Foundation. Common placement of Pustular Psoriasis includes the hands, feet, scalp, and face. It usually affects the hands and feet {Palmoplantar pustulosis}, but not in all patients.

___

What’s the Difference?

“Pustular psoriasis is a type of psoriasis that causes skin plaques with pustules or blisters anywhere on your body. Palmoplantar pustulosis, which is also known as palmoplantar pustular psoriasis, is pustular psoriasis that affects only your hands and feet.” - Cleveland Clinic

___

What is Pustular Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is an auto-immune disease, as is CLE: “Your immune system keeps your body healthy by defending itself against foreign invaders like bacteria. These invaders can make you sick. If you have psoriasis, your skin immune system becomes overactive and releases inflammatory molecules that cause healthy skin cells to divide and replicate too quickly, which causes dead skin cells to form on the surface of your skin as scales or flakes. This state of immunologic over-activity also causes certain cells from the immune system called neutrophils to collect in the most superficial layers of the skin, which causes pustules.” - Cleveland Clinic

Photo for Reference:

I’m not joking, this is an actual screenshot from the Behind-The-Scenes at around 32:17. Now, I don’t think Thomas’ condition AS SEEN IN THE FILMS is as extreme, but this might be what a flare-up looks like for him. That being said, there’s a significant feature Thomas has that we haven’t addressed yet,

How Did Thomas Lose His Nose?

In The Beginning {2006}, we can see Thomas’ nose cartilage rotting off from multiple open wounds. Just based on this information, it’s safe to assume it just rotten off, right? Not necessarily. Looking at Thomas’ face reveal in the 2003 remake, we notice the nose is cleanly cut off right where the ‘rot’/wound was in the 2006 version. Combine this with his tendency of self-mutilation, this leads me to assume he {or someone in the family} cut it off. Now, I’ve researched this a bit {hyperfixation running rampant rn} and cutting off your nose doesn’t hit any major arteries and isn’t life-threatening on its own. However, your nose is part of what’s called the ‘Triangle of Death.’ The Triangle of Death is a part of the face featuring the nose all the way down to the corners of the mouth. Because this area is so close to your brain as well as openings in your face, infections can be deadly. So cutting off your own nose could kill you from infection, not the act itself. Obviously, Thomas didn’t die from this as he’s in the damn movies with a fully-healed 'nose'. Anyway, going back to observing his face, we can also see the nasal bone. Finally answering the question: It’s safe to assume Thomas picks at his skin alot. Combine this with poor hygiene and wearing his {very dirty} mask all the time, his wounds most likely got infected. This caused him to literally rot from the inside out, which caused necrosis. Thomas most likely cut his nose off because of an infection that had the potential to be fatal. Lord knows Luda Mae was probably horrified and I’m sure Hoyt wasn’t too thrilled either..{Monty’s snoozin’ 100%}

Anyway, apologies for the poorly-edited and non-coherent rant. I see so many theories and get a bit intimidated to comment under most of them so I decided to post this instead. :)