30 Jun , 17:47
0
American Joe DiMeo, who survived a terrible car accident with burns to 80% of his body, shared his amazing journey to a new life after a unique face transplant
The fateful morning of 2018 forever changed the life of 18-year-old Joe DiMeo. Returning home after a night shift, the young man fell asleep at the wheel and got into an accident. He only regained consciousness several months later in the burn unit. Despite being unconscious immediately after the incident, Joe claims he could hear the voices of medical staff. He especially remembers the moments when bandages were changed, when the pain was so intense that it haunted him even in his dreams. "They're not trying to torture you, they're just removing the bandages, but it still hurts," Joe recalls.
Many people wonder if he saw anything unusual while in a coma.
I was walking my dog. I thought: "Oh, so that's what it is. I think this is the afterlife - I'm just walking with my dog on an endless hill."
The fateful meeting with a doctor from New York University at Langone took place in 2019. The specialist offered Joe to become a candidate for a revolutionary operation to transplant his face and both hands. The risk was enormous – two previous similar transplants had ended in failure. However, Joe was lucky: he successfully received a face transplant from a 47-year-old donor. Soon after the operation, a nurse named Jessica came into his life, who later became his wife. The girl learned about Joe's story from her teacher at medical school and watched a documentary about his unique transplant.
Despite the fact that the couple often faces misunderstanding from others, Joe himself takes a philosophical view of what happened. "I lost 80 percent of my skin, I have someone else's face and hands. But I found a life partner, and if I hadn't had the accident, I would probably still be an impudent 26-year-old kid," he summed up his amazing story.
