Katie Stubblefield could feel the wound on her face as she ran her fingertips over it.
Her damage has severely affected her eyesight, but by touching her face, she was able to feel what her physicians were trying tirelessly to repair. She could feel the swelling areas of her face. She was aware of the parts that were absent.
Katie was 21 years old when she became the youngest person in the United States to have a face transplant. That was before this happened. Last year, Katie had a transplant to restore the structure and functions of her face, including chewing, breathing, and swallowing. These abilities were lost due to a catastrophic gunshot injury, which was the tragic result of a suicide attempt she made as a teenager.
Katie now aims to utilize her historic procedure to raise awareness about the lingering costs of suicide and the priceless worth of life.
She is the cover star of the September edition of National Geographic magazine, which was released on Tuesday. The issue includes an essay titled “The Story of a Face” and a full-length documentary called “Katie’s Face.”
“I had no idea what a face transplant was.”
Katie had a lot of emotional challenges in the days leading up to her suicide attempt.
She had surgery to address her persistent gastrointestinal issues, and she also experienced betrayal in a personal connection. Katie’s mother, Alesia, was suddenly let go from her teaching position at Katie’s school around that time. According to Katie’s father, Robb, Alesia was sacked because she “questioned several decisions that were made lacking integrity.” He told CNN.
Katie was 18 years old on March 25, 2014, when her elder brother, Robert Stubblefield, heard gunshots and discovered her in a toilet at his house in Mississippi, where she had hurt herself.
He was heartbroken.
Katie has no recollection of the day that she lost her face, which was a terrible day. She has said that she does not remember much of that year, including the time she was hospitalized in Oxford, Mississippi, the time she was transported to another hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and the time she was moved to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where she would subsequently have her face transplanted three years later.
Katie’s parents, Robb and Alesia, were in Memphis when they first heard the phrase “face transplant.”
Robb stated, “There was an older trauma surgeon who basically told us, ‘It’s the worst wound that I’ve ever seen of its kind,’ and he said, ‘The only thing I can think of that would really give her functional life again is a face transplant.'”
“I was standing there wondering, ‘What do you mean by a face transfer? What is your job?
Katie added that when she was subsequently informed about the potential treatment, she was just as shocked.
Katie remarked, “I had no idea what a face transplant was.” “I was really excited to get a face again and to be able to function again when my parents helped me understand everything.”
Full and partial face transplants are medical operations that entail replacing all or sections of a person’s face with tissue from a dead donor. The tissue may include skin, bone, nerves, and blood vessels.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Katie’s treatment entailed the transplantation of her scalp, forehead, upper and lower eyelids, eye sockets, nose, upper cheeks, upper jaw, half of her lower jaw, upper teeth, lower teeth, and partial facial nerves, muscles, and skin. In other words, her whole face tissue was replaced.
The first woman to have a face transplant in the United States was a lady who survived a gunshot wound to the head, much like Katie. Connie Culp, the patient, had a 22-hour transplant operation at Cleveland Clinic and revealed her new look in 2009.
That was almost a complete face transplant. In 2010, the first successful complete face transplant in the world was performed at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
Susan Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of National Geographic magazine, said, “Only 40 people in the world have ever had a face transplant, and we believe that she is the 39th person.” This is how Katie fits in.
Goldberg said of the magazine, “We believe that her story is one of the most significant stories we will publish this year.” “We believed that it was a story that was both inspiring and moving, covering a wide range of topics, from the human experience to advancements in medicine and science.”
“You don’t think about it, the various parts of our faces.”
Dr. Brian Gastman, a plastic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic who led Katie’s operation and monitored her care, said that prior to the face transplant, physicians at Cleveland Clinic employed 3D printing to repair almost 90% of her lower jaw.
The medical team utilized CT images of Katie’s elder sister, Olivia McCay’s jaw, to create a 3D-printed model template for the repair.
Gastman said, “We created a plate that was designed to fit the combination of Katie and her sister’s jaws, and we used that plate to create Katie’s jaw before we performed the transplant.”
He said that when he initially observed Katie’s wounds, he was concerned that she would not survive.
Katie was put on the waiting list for a face transplant in March 2016. According to National Geographic, a donor was identified fourteen months later. The donor was a 31-year-old woman named Adrea Schneider, who had died from a heroin overdose. Katie got a thorough psychiatric examination before the treatment since she was a candidate for a face transplant and a victim of suicide.
On May 4, 2017, the 31-hour operation started after she was given the go-ahead to get her new face. It included 11 surgeons, a number of additional professionals, and virtual reality. The next day, the procedure was finished.
Katie, who still has some trouble speaking correctly, said, “I can touch my face now, and it feels incredible.”
Robb, her father, explained some of her feelings: “You take for granted the many components of our faces — the bone, the tissue, the muscle, everything – but when it’s gone, you notice the tremendous need. Then, when you get a transplant, you feel so grateful.
On August 1, 2017, Katie was released from the Cleveland Clinic. She takes immunosuppressive medicines to lower her chances of transplant rejection. This happens when the immune system of a person who has had a transplant fights the organ or tissue that was transplanted. For the remainder of her life, she will keep taking the drug.
Katie is still receiving physical and occupational treatment, working with a speech therapist, and taking Braille courses.
Katie claimed that she is “definitely taking many, many daily steps” in her rehabilitation. She also said that her family has been a great support in her recovery and that her religion has helped her stay strong.
She remarked, “Life is beautiful, and life is precious.”
Face transplants are considered experimental procedures, thus they are not covered by insurance companies, Medicare, or Medicaid. According to National Geographic, Katie’s transplant was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Defense, which was provided via the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine. The center is working to provide enhanced treatment alternatives for servicemen and women who have been seriously injured, including face transplants.
“I remember Dr. Gastman telling me that Katie was basically the perfect candidate for a face transplant,” he added. Robb added, “One, because of the type of wound that she suffered, but also she is in that age bracket of so many soldiers.” “She is in the age range of late teens to early twenties, which is when so many young soldiers are getting hurt.”
Katie’s medical care team is optimistic that her operation will help progress the science of face transplantation, but they have many more aspirations for her future as well.
Katie is planning to enroll in an online college shortly, and she may pursue a career in counseling and motivational speaking thereafter. She wants to make people more aware of suicide and how to avoid it.
Gastman added, “My first wish for Katie is to be happy.”
He said, “That’s the first thing, but in addition to that, I would like her to have some degree of normalcy.” “Then, she can do all of that and become a spokesperson for many things, such as how to be strong when facing challenges and how to avoid letting a single decision define who you are.” Additionally, on the other hand, a single impulsive action made by a large number of young people today might have a bad impact on your whole life.
He said that Katie “had the ultimate second chance.”
Katie’s mother, Alesia, said that it is still very important to be informed about suicide.
According to the World Health Organization, almost 800,000 people die by suicide each year throughout the world, which is approximately one person every 40 seconds.
According to a research issued in June by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates in the United States increased considerably in 44 states between 1999 and 2016. In 2016, suicide claimed the lives of around 45,000 individuals. More than half of those who died by suicide did not have a documented mental health problem.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, firearms were the most prevalent form of suicide in the United States in 2016, accounting for 22,963 fatalities, which is over half of all suicide deaths that year.
Alesia said that “I think we do a pretty decent job of educating them about sex and about drinking and driving,” but that there is a shortage of knowledge about suicide prevention among young people.
Alesia added, “I can honestly tell you that we do not believe for one moment that Katie wanted to die.” “However, we are convinced that she reached that low point where she truly made an effort and contemplated it, and for a brief period of time—20 seconds or less—children are capable of making those kinds of decisions.”