Niecie Venzke, who lives in Wisconsin, arranged a fundraising event for Denise, who was mauled by her brother’s two pit dogs in 1997. The event took place in September 2007. Almost all of her scalp was ripped off by the dogs. The individual who is raising money reveals that she is about to undergo a new operation after having to deal with sores and infections on her head for a considerable amount of time. Throughout the years, I have had a number of surgical procedures, but I have never been given any alternatives for my head. I was under the impression that I would have to spend the rest of my life dealing with the skin transplant and the problems that stemmed from it.
It was in 2017 that she made her first visit to the University of Wisconsin Health in Madison. “At that time the doctor took several pictures of my head and said he would present my case to his colleagues,” says the patient. Denise was given with a plan that included cranial facial surgery when she returned after a period of a few months. “I was going to have 4 to 5 skin expanders placed under the hair growing portion of my scalp and my forehead and that skin would be stretched over a few months,” according to her.
Many photographs of her scalp taken before to the new treatment are shown on the GoFundMe page. Due to the fact that the skin graft does not let hair to regenerate, she has been wearing a wig for a considerable amount of time. The first surgical procedure was expected to take place on October 15, 2019. After that, she started the process of enduring the tissue enlargement, which would need between two and four procedures over the course of the next year. To far, she has contributed 31 updates to the fund as of the 14th of May, 2020. On the 4th of May, she uploaded a video in which she detailed the second stage of her surgical procedure.
Watching the whole fifteen-minute video is something that we highly encourage. Due to the fact that the skin expanders have been implanted, her look will be somewhat peculiar. When Denise is explaining the tissue enlargement treatment and how she is dealing with it, she maintains a bright and happy attitude for the majority of the film. In addition, she discusses the several remarkable medical professionals and practitioners of medicine that she has encountered along her trip. We also find out that she is a single mother with three children, two of which are fraternal twins who are six years old.
Evidently, her operation timeline has been altered as a result of Covid-19. As the movie draws to a close, she discusses the several pictures of herself that she has had to adapt to ever since the pit bull mauling. “That has been one of the most challenging things for me psychologically during this whole process. You are getting acclimated to your appearance, but then it starts to change on a weekly basis. When tomorrow comes along, I will have a completely new appearance. Since the incident that took place in 1997, Denise has had to exercise extreme caution in order to prevent getting sunburns on her head and banging her head.
Immediately after the removal of the expanders, she uploaded a video on May 5th. The statement that she makes is that “the results are better than we anticipated.” “Magician” is another skill that she may add to her CV, according to her beloved Dr. Garland. The 6th of May was the day when she was released from the hospital. The 10th of May was the day when she was allowed to take off her cast. She made the statement, “It was so emotional!” “I now have feeling in most of my head and it’s the oddest feeling to touch parts of my head that I haven’t had any feeling in for the past 23 years!”
It had been one week after the expanders had been removed when she uploaded yet another video update. A large portion of the edema has subsided. It is still difficult for her to acclimate to the fact that her head is now much smaller than it was before. “It’s going to take me awhile to get used to this.” She was left without any sensation on the top of her head as a result of the skin transplant. As a result, she is unable to measure the distance between her head and the ground. This results in her often bumping her head, which causes an open sore to appear on her head each time. The new surgical procedure ought to lessen this.
At least two additional surgical procedures are available for Denise. Additionally, she has raised close to $7,000 of the $8,000 that she had set as her goal. You are strongly encouraged to make a contribution of any amount. By doing so, you will also assure that you will get email updates on the fund in the future. Denise is a remarkable and motivational individual who has survived an assault by a pit bull. In addition, she is a mother to three beautiful children. She was kind enough to provide us her account of the assault a few days ago. It is being published in its entirety down below. Within a short distance of Neillsville, Wisconsin, the assault took place on September 11, 1997.
I am presently undergoing my eighth operation, which is directly due to the assault that was carried out by the pit bull. It is my honest opinion that I am a fixer upper. Due to the fact that I have been off work, I have had a lot of time to think about my life and the bizarre occurrence that has occurred. I am able to state without a doubt that I do not feel any remorse about anything happened to me. Because of that, I’ve formed into the person that I am now.
It is no longer upsetting for me to think about the events that took place on September 11, 1997, because I have now come to the realization that after all these years, I have accepted and appreciated the fact that this was a chapter of my life that I was intended to experience. Since then, it has had a significant impact on my life.
Please be aware that this may be difficult to read.
I had just begun my first year of high school and was 14 years old at the time at the time. Because I was not feeling well that morning, my mother allowed me to skip school and remain at home instead. My brother Doug and I were the only ones there. Rock and Spike, Doug’s two pit dogs, were two of my absolute favorites. I loved them both. Considering that Doug was my elder brother, he has always been a rather dictatorial person. Due to the fact that I was unwell, he instructed me to remain in my room for the whole day. When I was 14, however, I believed that I understood better than everyone else what I need. In the front yard of my parents’ house, there was a lilac tree, and I wanted to go outdoors and sit beneath it. It was my expectation that doing so would improve my mood. I sneaked out of the home without my older brother knowing, being quite stealthy about it. On my way out, I stopped to pick up some dog food in order to feed the guys, who were collectively referred to as Rock and Spike. They were brothers and had just turned a little bit more than a year old recently.
When I heard something, I was almost to the lilac bush, and my heart almost missed a beat because I thought it was my brother coming to reprimand me. That would be “the boys.” My mind was filled with the thought, “Oh, thank God, it’s just the two of you today.” On the other hand, they were approaching me at such a rapid pace. At that moment, I was aware that something was amiss. The discomfort in my left leg started almost immediately. I was knocked to the ground after being bitten by one of the dogs, which caused me to fall. I was unaware at the time, but I ended up falling face down into the grass, which turned out to be the thing that ultimately saved my life. [Pit bulls] have a natural inclination to attack the neck, and if I had fallen on my back, they would have attacked my throat. There was a time when I would shout for Doug until my voice became hoarse. I was unable to feel any pain, but I was aware that there was a dog sitting on my left arm and another dog sitting on my head. My hand was covered in blood when I was able to view it, and I recall that it was coated in blood when I placed it on top of my head.
Immediately after that, a UPS truck stopped in my driveway and made a turn around the corner. Doug exited the home in a hurry and came dashing out of the house almost instantly. He screamed at the dogs who were running in his direction. Once I was certain that they were at a safe distance, I made a beeline for the UPS truck. “I have to do something, if I don’t do it, you will pass away,” the UPS driver remarked to the customer. He was able to travel the seven miles to Neillsville in some mysterious way. Our meeting with the ambulance took place at the town’s main junction. To him, I expressed my gratitude by saying, “I believe you have just saved my life.” When I tried to communicate with him, all I could manage to say was a whisper, and I still don’t know whether he heard me. Even though I was not suffering a seizure, my whole body was trembling. Due to the loss of blood, I was in a state of acute shock. As soon as I was placed into the ambulance, I said the words, “I am so exhausted that I want to sleep.” The emergency medical technician said in a very forceful manner, “If you sleep, you could pass away.”
As soon as I arrived at the little rural hospital, I, along with everyone else, seemed to be in a state of fear. In the same year, Spirit, which is now known as Flight for Life at St. Joseph’s hospital, was established. After just a few minutes, the helicopter arrived. As soon as I was hoisted aboard the helicopter, I was transported to Marshfield. I never lost consciousness, and I am able to recall every single nuance, scent, and every single beeping sound that occurred in the helicopter. Upon our arrival, I was immediately transported to the operating room. In the recovery room, I awakened after about nine hours had passed. It wasn’t until long later that I became aware of the full degree of my injuries. I spent the following several days in and out of the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU). My neighborhood, my family, and my friends showed me an incredible amount of love and support. I was aware that the whole head was wrapped in bandages, and I was unable to move my left arm. However, I was determined, and it is a determination that I continue to possess to this day.
In the end, after four days, I was able to walk with help. I had my first skin transplant one week after I was brought for the procedure. It was decided to take the top layer of skin from my right leg and then graft it onto my skull from there. It was just enough skin to cover the scalp that had been removed, and the “donor” region stretched from my knee to my crotch. After a few days had passed, I finally returned to the operating room to have a graft implanted on my forehead. Due to the fact that the hue was more similar to my natural skin tone, this skin was removed from my left arm. The upper left arm, where I had lost three quarters of my biceps and a significant chunk of my triceps muscles, was the location of the additional graft that I had inserted. My recovery was quite quick, and I was released from the hospital two weeks and four days after my first hospitalization.
My head was the first thing I saw when I was a child. They were so pleased with the job that they had done that they offered me a mirror so that I could examine it. I was just able to get a glimpse of the mirror before I flung it across the room. At the age of 14, my looks was essential. I was under the impression that I would never be able to adapt.
The whole amount of time that my arm was in a sling was close to two months. It was expressed to me that I would never again be able to restore my complete range of motion. It took me more than a year of participation in physical therapy, as well as a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but I am now able to move that arm in every direction. I have come to the realization that I would not have been able to live if the events that transpired on that day had not occurred precisely as they did. I will be eternally grateful to the UPS driver as well as to my brother Doug!