Amusingly, he played a doomed gunfighter in the classic Western The Magnificent Seven, and then recreated the same role in the sci-fi knock-off Battle Beyond the Stars.
During the middle third he could have removed her bandages, revealed the horrors beneath, and fled the country or at least the city after she violently attacked him and vowed revenge while being dragged off by security.
That why the shaggy dog aspect is necessary.
So when her son's friend stops by to take her out to lunch and meet up with her son she's all frazzled.