First US patient gets face transplant

[Lovejac]

http://www.ecanadanow.com/curiosity...h-shows-face-on-oprah-before-and-after-photo/

**Warning: Graphic photos.** So sad. She is so much more positive than I could be. What a strong woman.

Thank you for posting this link. I heard, after the fact, that she was on Oprah. I'll look it up on YouTube later.

I am so happy she survived, I really thought she was going to die. What a couragious woman.

 

[southcitymom]

Wow - my husband and I just recently saw that story. It's hard to imagine living with that sort of mutilation. Of course, she can't see herself. I am humbled by her courage.

 

[OrdinaryLife]

It is impossible to comprehend what this woman has been through. Mere words cannot define how much I admire her strength and within power.

Charla Nash, you are one beautiful woman. That is fact. :blowkiss:

 

[PeteyGirl]

I hope for the rest of her life she is surrounded by the most loving and patient people. People who will tend to her, help her feel safe and cherished and important. I thank God she cannot see herself. It is one barrier to her living a full and rich life that she will not have to deal with. God bless her.

 

[Columbo]

I'm afraid to look at the link...maybe later.

 

[Penelope]

I'm afraid to look at the link...maybe later.

It's pretty horrific. She doesn't have any real facial features-- just a blob of skin. When she talks, you can't even see her mouth opening -- it's like it is underneath the skin. I don't know how she eats.

All I can say is God Bless Her. And I mean it. She is way stronger than I could ever be under such circumstances --a true pillar of strength. And to appear on Oprah the way she has -- she is amazing!

And let this be a lesson to those who keep animals -- like the one that did this to her -- as pets. They belong in the wild or a zoo, not in the home. She deserves every cent she can get from the woman who owned the chimp.

 

[MomofBoys]

It's so unbelievably horrible.

What I don't get, though, (and believe me, I'm not blaming the victim) is that she said she'd seen aggressive behavior from him in the past. Why, then, didn't she refuse to try to help? She couldn't have anticipated THIS, but if I was on a jury I'd have a hard time giving her a ton of punitive damages (and I'm talking Grisham-esque kabillionsandillions) because she volunteered to help corral an ape with known emotional issues.

Again, she didn't know she'd have her whole face torn off, but if I know my neighbor's chow is a biter and I go over there to help catch him, then I would readily admit I bear some of the responsibility for my injuries. I'm not saying she shouldn't get compensated, at all, but when she said that about his issues, it was a bit of an eye-opener.

And yes, I feel awful about saying this about someone who's had her eyes removed. I'm just trying to speak objectively without looking at that picture again. Shudder.

 

[Melly53]

She was not just a friend but was also an employee of the woman who owned the chimp which might have had something to do with her decision to assist luring him back into the house. It was discussed on Jane Valez Mitchell's show.

She has shown a tremendous amount of courage and a true will to live despite her injuries. My thoughts and prayers go out to her.

 

[PeteyGirl]

I am guessing the large protuberance of skin on her face contains a "skin stretcher" device, one that is injected with sterile saline to increase the size of the skin, so that it can be used later for skin grafting and reconstruction. They can do amazing things. I know her reconstruction will be the life's dream of a few surgeons and prosthetic specialists.

I think it is a good thing, if you can, to look her full on in the face. Any one of us could suffer such a disfiguring injury, in any manner of ways. Let us all bear witness to her tragedy as best we can and not look away in despair, but see through it to the soul of this woman. She is one of us experiencing the unimaginable. She has something to teach us about life and living.

 

[lizzybeth]

I think I read in one of the links that she would like to have a face transplant. She may not look like her old self but I would think it would give her a more "normal" appearance than just plastic surgery.

 

[Sassygerl]

I admire her strength and courage, but I won't lie. I can honestly say I would never want to live that way...ever. Just shoot me.

 

[Recovering-Lurker]

It's pretty horrific. She doesn't have any real facial features-- just a blob of skin. When she talks, you can't even see her mouth opening -- it's like it is underneath the skin. I don't know how she eats.

*snipped and bbm*

I think I read that doctors put a hole in her "face" so she could drink from a straw.

 

[Hopeful One]

Thanks for the link. I've wondered often how she is doing. I can't imagine living like that. She is truly courageous. I wish I hadn't missed the episode.

 

[MomofBoys]

I don't understand why she can't have a hand transplant. They say it's because she's blind. That makes no sense to me! Doesn't a blind person need to compensate with other abilities? To be blind has to be hard enough.

It's just so awful. I can't begin to imagine where she's at mentally. I'm amazed she's willing to come forward, actually. It shows a strength I don't think I'd have. I think if that happened to me I'd try to soldier on for my children and family, but if not for them I might just crawl into a corner and stay there. I'm not a vain person, at all, but just coming to terms with being so completely disfigured and knowing that NO ONE would look at me the same way again. Looks may be superficial, but I think our identity is very connected to our appearance and although some might say "the inside is still the same" I think even the most accepting person would still be capable of judgement and bias.

More than that, though, my heart just hurts for her lack of sight, the lack of ability to breathe normally, to eat normally...her life as she knew it is gone. I know my first post may have come off as callous, but I still absolutely hold the owner to blame for this. I just think it's a case of both of them knowing the risks and probably believing that there was no way this would happen. If she was indeed an employee, I can appreciate that it might have put her under more pressure to assist. Plus, he had never done anything to this extreme before, so...it's human nature not to picture the most extreme result.

 

[Melanie]

What a strong and corageous woman - I am deeply humbled by her. I hear she lives in the hospital due to the severity of her wounds -- but boy is she strong!

 

[Suthrnqt]

What a strong and corageous woman - I am deeply humbled by her. I hear she lives in the hospital due to the severity of her wounds -- but boy is she strong!

I so agree with you. She is such a strong woman. I'm not sure I could be as courageous. I applaud this woman and wish her well.

 

[Kymistry35]

Bless her heart. I cannot even begin to imagine what all she has been through and she still has so much more to endure.

 

[Linda7NJ]

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- An Ohio hospital has told the family of a Connecticut woman mauled and blinded by a chimpanzee a year ago that it cannot perform a face and hand transplant for her, a family attorney said Monday.
Charla Nash's family is looking into alternative facilities after the Cleveland Clinic said it could not do both transplants, attorney Bill Monaco told The Associated Press on Monday. He said the transplants have to be done simultaneously and come from the same donor

more at link

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHIMPANZEE_ATTACK?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

 

[lizzybeth]

I hope she doesn't give up.

 

[Hopeful One]

I hope she doesn't give up.

Same here. Sending more prayers her way.