Robert Chelsea says that when he looks in the mirror, he sees “another person” staring back at him. It’s been four years since he made history as the oldest and first black patient to receive a full face transplant.
A Los Angeles man is slowly recovering from a grueling 16-hour surgery at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2019 after suffering severe burns to 60% of his body in a car accident several years ago. I’m doing it.
Chelsea said the swelling had subsided and he had regained some strength in his lip. He was also able to grow a beard on his new face.
Chelsea commented: “The condition of my face looks good.” KTLA interview It’s been four years since the transplant that changed his life. “When you look in the mirror you see another person, that’s for sure.”
But the patient, who underwent a historic face transplant, said he was still shocked by the new and unfamiliar reflection of himself each time.
“I know it’s me, but I’m looking at someone else,” Chelsea said.
To keep her body from rejecting newcomers and to prevent infections, Chelsea takes a dozen immunosuppressants (enough to fill a small suitcase) every day, costing her about $5,500 a month in medical bills. are spending
But Chelsea are happy to take on any challenge.
“I’m fine,” he said.
Chelsea was driving home from church in 2013 when her car overheated and pulled over on the shoulder of the highway. While waiting for roadside assistance, a drunk driver rammed his car, which exploded into a fireball.
Chelsea narrowly escaped death but fell into a coma for six months.
Doctors performed more than 30 reconstructive surgeries on the injured man, but they were unable to save his lip, nose and left ear.
Years of tests and physical and psychological evaluations followed before Chelsea was placed on the face transplant list in March 2018.
Due to low organ donation rates in the United States, especially in the black community, Chelsea have had to wait longer than usual for recruits.
“I’m black, so I happened to need a black face, so I’m very lucky,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if someone needs a kidney, a liver or a lung.”
In July 2019, a suitable face that matched the patient’s complexion finally appeared, making it possible to proceed with the transplant.
At 68, Chelsea became the oldest person to receive a full face transplant and the first black person to receive it.
In 2007, a black French patient received a partial facial transplant. To date, her 48 face transplants worldwide have been performed on patients from her 19 to her 60 years. Some of them died from infection or rejection. According to the Mayo Clinic.
After the successful operation by a medical team of 45, Chelsea issued a statement thanking the donor’s family for the “valuable gift”.
“Words cannot describe how I feel,” Chelsea said at the time. “I am truly grateful to receive such a wonderful gift.”
Since the life-changing surgery, Chelsea have become advocates for organ donation. He also visits schools as a guest speaker, encouraging children to be kind to people who look different.
