Katie, 21-year-old from Oxford, Mississippi, lost her face after shooting herself when she tried to take her own life on March 25, 2014, after her boyfriend dumped her. She survived but was left fighting for her life, she had lost her forehead, nose and sinuses. Her mouth was also gone except for the corners of her lips.
100 per cent of her face was transplanted by doctors, to achieve results that cannot be called anything less than miraculous in the hospital where Katie was operated. Her family was extremely supportive throughout this journey.
She was put on the waiting list for a face transplant in 2016, later after a year, a donor was found, making Katie the 40th face transplant patient in the world. She was operated upon in May 2017, making her the youngest one in the US to undergo the face transplant.
Now for the rest of her life, she will continue to be on medication to minimize the risk of transplant rejection, she is also taking physical and occupational therapy, including help from a speech therapist.
Her story made it to the National Geographic magazine as she featured on their cover.
SIASAT NEWS