Woman See’s Dead Brothers Face On Another Man After Face Transplant Surgery
When 21 year old Joshua Aversano died in a tragic car accident three years ago, his family decided to donate his face for a transplant. Now, thanks to surgery, Joshua’s face is grafted onto Richard Norris, a man who accidentally shot himself in the face 18 years ago leaving it severely disfigured.
Norris had undergone 30 unsuccessfully surgeries to try and regain his features. However, in 2012 a team of 150 doctors and nurses replaced his teeth, jawbones, tongue, muscles and nerves in a 36 hour face transplant surgery.
A documentary, which will broadcast on 60 Minutes in May captures the moment that Joshua’s sister, Rebekah Aversano, sees her dead brother’s face on Norris’ body for the first time. According to Huffington Post “Moving towards Norris to get a closer look, Aversano asks if she can touch his face. Then, with her hand on his cheek, she says: “This is the face that I grew up with.”
Joshua’s mother, Gwen spoke to the press about Richards groundbreaking surgery, as noted in Huffington Post saying, “We are just so pleased we have been able to help him, even though we had such a tragic loss, we were able to give someone else the benefit of our son.“
