Charla Nash reveals her new face
After being mauled by a chimpanzee two years ago, Charla Nash underwent a 20-hour surgical marathon to receive a full face transplant. She is one of a handful of recipients worldwide and has now revealed her new face for the first time in public.
Her face is smooth and features are looking almost normal in a before-and-after photo taken at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, according to the NBC news outlet. She is now able to breathe on her own, smell and eat solid food again.
She has been living in a nursing home since she was savaged by a chimpanzee nearly two years ago, and has undergone a series of surgeries and tests to improve her life. She has also been involved in a military-funded experiment to see if she can wean herself off anti-rejection drugs after her face transplant.
Before the surgery, Nash was blind and deaf. She was also left with a severe severing of her nose, lips, eyelids and hands that caused her to become completely disfigured.
After the surgery, Nash is now a healthy 57-year-old who lives in Stamford, Connecticut. She is now a resident of a nursing home and has been working with a physical therapist to build her strength.
Despite the grueling treatment and surgery, Nash remains an outspoken advocate for animal rights. She has sued the state of Connecticut for failing to enforce laws regulating the keeping of chimpanzees as pets.
Her story has drawn international attention and sparked questions about how to keep chimps in captivity. Her story has been told on the BBC, NBC and other media outlets.
The 57-year-old, who was attacked by her friend Sandra Herold’s pet chimp Travis in February 2009, was severely injured. Her nose, lip, eyes and hands were ripped off by the 200-pound animal as she tried to lure him back into Herold’s house in Stamford.
It is estimated that chimp attacks on people are rare and occur only a few times a year in the United States. The majority of such incidents occur in zoos.
This is a shocking story that goes to show how dangerous chimpanzees can be as pets. It is even more so when they are allowed to roam free in public.
In the past, a chimpanzee has killed a human, but this is the first attack on someone who has undergone a face transplant. It’s a terrifying story for anyone to hear, but it is especially distressing for Charla Nash.
She was a barrel racer, horse jumper and rodeo competitor when the attack occurred. She also worked as a dispatcher for a towing company and manned a computer help desk.
But her life was turned upside down when her face was brutally attacked by a chimpanzee in 2009. It is now being reported that the 57-year-old has undergone a successful face transplant at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The face transplant was completed in May with dozens of doctors who performed the operation in a marathon session lasting about 20 hours. Doctors also attempted to transplant a pair of hands but these were later removed due to blood flow problems.