World first face transplant: meeting the man who wears 'my brother's face' | 60 Minutes Australia

Richard Norris is probably the biggest medical miracle in the

world

right now. His

face

is not his. His skin, bones, teeth, even his tongue are from another man. Richard is the recipient of the

world

's

first

full

face

transplant

and it is incredible medical science. He is also emotionally tense. to rebecca avasano, you see when she lost her

brother

in a car accident, rebecca thought she would never see his face again, how wrong she would be with every step, rebecca avasano gets closer to a face she has known her whole life, it is her face.

brother

joshua who died three years ago i think he was thinking what the hell did my brother just die hey it's a bittersweet reunion made possible by extraordinary medical science born from the pain of two families but ends with a story of hope, rebirth and love I see that Josh It's gone, but in a way it's still here.

Field Dale Virginia in the United States. Population 826. Not the kind of place you'd expect to find pioneering medical science. This really is a one-street town. Richard. How are you? You look good and it's where Richard Norris grew up. Oh, here comes my father. This is your father. Yes, it is a small town. What was he like before the accident? He was full of it. Sometimes it was a bit complicated. Yes, sometimes. Did he like to play pranks on you? Eddie and Sandra Norris can laugh now, but for years they have suffered alongside their son. Sandra saw something no mother should see.

It happened so fast you wonder what I'm supposed to do. What I can do? Tell me what I have to do and you can't do anything. You know you are no longer in control. Richard's family left the house he grew up in because he has too many bad memories, but back in September 1997. Richard, who is 22 years old, comes home drunk around 5 p.m. m., it's Wednesday. His mother, Sandra, is upset and they start arguing. The fight moves to Richard's room, where, according to the police report, he grabs a shotgun and tells his mother that she is going to shoot herself.

What I don't know is that the gun is loaded, it fires and blows off half of Richard's face, so Richard had blown off his nose, his lips, his lips, his chin, his teeth, the gun, actually, when He went to take it out, he was going in this direction and everything from top to bottom came out. Will you ever be able to get that image out of your mind? No, have you ever had flashbacks? Yes, and I heard it. Yes, I fought for it, I fought with it, I used it to live, if you can handle someone who does. something he wanted him to experience Richard may have survived but the damage is devastating, he cannot speak and is fed through a tube in his stomach.

The

first

time I saw God I couldn't look at him, I mean, it was so bad and I. I just thought what kind of life he was going to have, he just killed us, I just think I heard wrong while he did it, what did you see? I didn't see myself, I didn't know who I was, I was going to know that Richard became a recluse for the next 15 years, he is frequently suicidal and on the rare occasions he leaves the house, he hides behind a mask and how do people react to him when they see him, even with the mask, they stand by the wayside, you know, and then when people would come home he would wear a mask he wouldn't eat at the table with us desperate for a miracle sandra She starts searching online but face

transplant

s are still the stuff of science fiction.

Then, in 2005, eight years after Richard's accident, Sandra finds a speck of hope in a pioneering surgeon, Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, this was an individual. very quiet and lonely and you didn't know what the chances of him integrating back into society would be if you helped him, did you feel sorry for him? Absolutely, you always feel sorry for someone who walks into your clinic with their head down, wearing a baseball cap and a mask, it will take Dr. Rodriguez another seven years of research practicing first on cadavers and then on a brain dead patient. before he is ready to risk Richard's life on what will happen. be the most complete and ambitious face transplant, but one family's hope is based on another family's tragedy.

He loved to hunt and he loved to shoot and fish in 2012. Rebecca Avasano's little brother, Joshua, 21, had just been accepted into the US Marines, but as he crossed the street. Early one night, he was hit by a truck. Joshua was rushed to the hospital where Dr. Rodriguez worked, only to be declared brain dead. I think this is the first time I've seen my father cry. One of the hardest parts for me was Look, my parents had to go through that with their only child and then the doctors came to you with an extraordinary request, so they just asked us if we would be willing to think and talk about donating your face to someone, that's a monumental decision. to do in a moment of pain, is that part of me started to feel offended like: what are you doing?

I just lost my only brother who is 21 years old and now you are asking to take his face too, you know, donate. his face all his face meant someone else would be walking around looking like my brother how does that work? joshua is the perfect match for richard they are the same blood type skin color hair and face shape he died so you could be here today and then his family and him easily couldn't get anything and it took them a lifetime for them to choose not march on 19, 2012 and dr. Rodriguez is preparing for the biggest operation of his life the stakes are high there is a 50/50 chance that Richard will die on the operating table what right do you have to take that kind of risk with someone's life well I look at the person I look to the person and look at the suffering they go through it was 100 the right decision I know you hated your disfigurement but was it really worth the risk of dying?

Did you want him to go ahead with the surgery? Eddie, no, I was afraid the wrists would be so high that you know we'd lose it. A team of 150 people is assembled to do what has never been done before. Attempts have been made to remove Joshua's face starting just after the hairline, forehead, eyebrows, bone structure of the nose, including the jaw, to below the collarbone, peeled off in one piece and attached to Richard, who had the rest of his face removed, it will take a grueling 36 hours, I'm just racing to get to the end point and we have to keep pushing everyone in that direction calmly, methodically, there's no turning back, we have a job to complete, there is no plan b, failure is not an option, new from Richard face tell me about that moment when dr.

Rodriguez gave you the mirror looking for love. Do you think he is handsome? yes of course she does and the moment rebecca sees her brother's face on richard he's gone but in a way he's still here that's next on 60

minutes

. Tell me about that moment when Dr. Rodríguez gave you the mirror and you saw your new face for the first time. No, I looked and then I started touching myself and I couldn't find that word. So I just hugged him and said thank you. Three years ago. Richard's full face transplant and he is not only living the normal life he once dreamed of.

He has found true love with Melanie Solis. Have you ever been so happy? Richard. No, I've had this with her. It's call love. Alright. What do you like about this? man what's here and then the rest? Do you think he said that's the cherry on top? Yes, of course. He has a 20-year-old face that they met early last year when Melanie emailed Richard after seeing his story on the news. We now live together in New Orleans. They are soulmates, I know what it feels like to be isolated because you feel ugly because at one point I was 256 pounds and I went into a lonely state for a few years, so the first time you met in person you were nervous. oh yeah, he was shaking, he was shaking, he was so scared, he tried to steal a kiss, yeah, on the cheek, I got it, yeah, you did, he got the kiss.

Nice, hello everyone, to Richard's family and friends, this is a reborn man, how has he been doing? Man, he's good to see you, Rodney, my girlfriend, very knowledgeable, nice to meet you and tonight he brought Melanie back to Field Dale to meet her old friends from her school. Greetings. Many of us sitting here can remember the day it happened, but knowing who we were. I'm about to say goodbye to him and it's amazing to see that not only is he still here but he's living a happy life. Yes, Melanie, why does it bother you to hear this?

It's a miracle he's alive. Many people don't. I don't have a best friend let alone all of these, so he is truly blessed. Thank you so much to everyone who is here and I love you all. Richard is a medical miracle. No one could have predicted how successful the transplant would be. Joshua and Richard's senses and nervous system have merged into one, Richard can now smell with Joshua's nose, taste with his tongue and even the hair he is shaving is Joshua's. You can feel your face. You can not? If I can. I have sensations all over my face.

I actually have sensations in parts of my face. which there's no reason it should because that part of the nerve wasn't connected and no one expected you to be able to taste or smell, right? That was actually a surprise to all of us, you know, the first thing I thought I have this nail was freshly cut grass freshly cut grass Richard now thinks of her face as his own but every day he remembers the gift that Joshua's family gave him. And now Joshua's sister, Rebecca, has flown in and wants to see the man who

wears

her brother's face.

I didn't know I would ever have the chance to meet him and I didn't know if he would ever want to meet me. You know he does. There are so many things he wants to say to Rebecca. How are you? You feel so? right, yes, I feel excited for Rebecca, it's a moment of mixed emotions, can I touch him of course, oh my god, that's amazing, it feels strange, Rebecca touches his skin like that, that's my brother's skin, you know it's just seeing seeing your lips even you know and your nose your eyebrows this is the face that I grew up with he's gone but in a way he's still here you know I looked at him every day and now I'm seeing him in I see, Josh, yes, definitely, do you feel closer to your brother being here with Richard now yes, yes, thank you, thank you, thank you, that's not enough, there are no words to describe how grateful I am to his family .

Do you want to see Richard's family, yes, I would love to help you, it is the opportunity that Richard's mother, Sandra, has longed for for years. She has been tormented by what Rebecca's family sacrificed for her son. We do it too. I mean, there is no day. because we didn't think about all of you, yes, and I know that our happiest day had to be the worst and you know it, we just cried with him, thank you, it tears my heart now that I had to make a decision, one of the most difficult for me it was seeing my parents, you know, finding out if you know, struggling with it, seeing my parents break down because they just got told that their only son is gone, you know, it's heartbreaking, so I can only imagine how The Boys must have what it felt like to see his son live the way he had been living and go through what he went through.

If we had it in our hands to bring it to life, we couldn't not do it, we couldn't just keep it to ourselves. Gift Back is spreading the word about organ donation. He has made it the mission of her life. He will be forever grateful for her transformation. He has given him what he always wanted: the opportunity to be another face in the crowd. And I don't look at it as such. having a face transplant I just see it like a normal person it's a nice thing to hear being a normal person but it's just a normal person Hi, I'm Alison Langdon, thanks for watching to stay up to date with the latest news from 60 Minutes in Australia.

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