American woman gets a new face 6 years after lye attack
Source: Agencies |
May 3, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN American woman has revealed her new face six years after her former husband disfigured her by dousing her with industrial-strength lye, and said she went through "what some may call hell" but has found a way to be happy.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton had face transplant surgery at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital in February and spoke publicly for the first time at a news conference at the hospital on Wednesday.
"I'm now in a better place, mentally and emotionally, than I ever could have imagined six years ago," said Tarleton, a former transplant nurse. "I want to share my experience with others, so they may find that strength inside themselves to escape their own pain."
In 2007, the 44-year-old mother of two was attacked by her then-husband, Herbert Rodgers, who believed she was seeing another man. Police say he went to the house looking for that man, then went into a fury directed toward Tarleton, striking her with a bat and pouring lye from a squeeze bottle onto her face.
When police arrived, Tarleton was trying to crawl to a shower to wash away the chemical. Her was already distorted.
In 2009, Rodgers pleaded guilty to maiming Tarleton in exchange for a prison sentence of at least 30 years.
"I learned that ... forgiveness doesn't condone anything he did and it's not about him - it's about forgiving him, it's forgiving myself, it's allowing myself to move forward and not getting stuck in the tragedy of that night," said Tarleton, who has undergone 55 surgeries during the past five years.
During the face transplant, over 30 surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses worked for more than 15 hours to replace her skin, muscles, tendons and nerves, the hospital said.
The face donor was a Williamstown, Massachusetts, woman named Cheryl Denelli Righter who died of a sudden stroke, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Righter's daughter, Marinda, told Tarleton on Wednesday that she looked beautiful, adding she was certain her mother had somehow picked Tarleton. "They are both mothers, they're both survivors, they're both beacons of light," she said.
Tarleton is legally blind and read her remarks from a tablet. She thanked Righter's family for what she called "a tremendous gift" that's greatly alleviated the physical pain she'd felt daily. She referred to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and said the city is "facing the challenges of pain and forgiveness."
Carmen Blandin Tarleton had face transplant surgery at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital in February and spoke publicly for the first time at a news conference at the hospital on Wednesday.
"I'm now in a better place, mentally and emotionally, than I ever could have imagined six years ago," said Tarleton, a former transplant nurse. "I want to share my experience with others, so they may find that strength inside themselves to escape their own pain."
In 2007, the 44-year-old mother of two was attacked by her then-husband, Herbert Rodgers, who believed she was seeing another man. Police say he went to the house looking for that man, then went into a fury directed toward Tarleton, striking her with a bat and pouring lye from a squeeze bottle onto her face.
When police arrived, Tarleton was trying to crawl to a shower to wash away the chemical. Her was already distorted.
In 2009, Rodgers pleaded guilty to maiming Tarleton in exchange for a prison sentence of at least 30 years.
"I learned that ... forgiveness doesn't condone anything he did and it's not about him - it's about forgiving him, it's forgiving myself, it's allowing myself to move forward and not getting stuck in the tragedy of that night," said Tarleton, who has undergone 55 surgeries during the past five years.
During the face transplant, over 30 surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses worked for more than 15 hours to replace her skin, muscles, tendons and nerves, the hospital said.
The face donor was a Williamstown, Massachusetts, woman named Cheryl Denelli Righter who died of a sudden stroke, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Righter's daughter, Marinda, told Tarleton on Wednesday that she looked beautiful, adding she was certain her mother had somehow picked Tarleton. "They are both mothers, they're both survivors, they're both beacons of light," she said.
Tarleton is legally blind and read her remarks from a tablet. She thanked Righter's family for what she called "a tremendous gift" that's greatly alleviated the physical pain she'd felt daily. She referred to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and said the city is "facing the challenges of pain and forgiveness."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
