Richard Lee Norris, now 37 years old, suffered facial injuries in a shooting accident 15 years ago, which left his face in a disfigured state. Since then, he has not only been staying in hiding but also disguising his face whenever he goes to the supermarket. Richard had the most extensive face transplant ever performed on him seven months ago, and the incredible results continue to astound everyone.
Following his recovery, Richard now has a face that is fully normal, and he is able to freely stroll out in public without drawing attention to himself. He is now able to grin, and he is participating in speech therapy in order to recover his ability to speak.
“Because of my deformities, people used to look at me all the time.” Now they are able to gaze at me in wonder and awe at the metamorphosis that I have undergone. I am now able to pass right by folks, and they don’t even bother to give me a second glance.”
According to a press release issued by The University of Maryland Medical Center, the procedure that the young man underwent earlier this year lasted for a total of 36 hours and involved the replacement of “both jaws, teeth, tongue, and skin and underlying nerve and muscle tissue from scalp to neck.”
“For the last 15 years, I have led the life of a hermit, spending the most of my time shopping at night when there are less people around and hiding behind a surgical mask. I can now go out without worrying about being judged or having to listen to the remarks other people would normally make.
It is incredible to see how far face transplants have come over the last many decades. It seems incredible that we are even capable of doing this operation, but the sheer fact that we can do it at all is astounding. It’s safe to say that Richard is taken aback (in a good way) by the findings.