After Carmen Blandin Tarleton's ex-husband doused her with industrial-strength lye in 2007, she sought face transplant surgery in an attempt to repair her disfigured face. Now, she's revealing her face for the first time since undergoing the procedure at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
The 44-year-old Vermont woman spoke at a news conference at the hospital Wednesday and said that she is in a better place now than she ever could have imagined following the horrific attack, the Associated Press reports.
Tarleton also said that she plans to continue telling her story so that others can harness their inner-strength to get through their own pain.
The lye attack left Tarleton, a nurse and mother of two children, with burns over more than 80 percent of her body. As a result, she was placed in a medically induced coma for three months and underwent more than 55 surgeries to treat the burns.
"Despite our best efforts, Carmen was left severely disfigured and in constant pain. She would drool almost constantly," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, director of plastic surgery transplantation at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
After the procedure, Tarleton said that she was thankful for the surgery
"I feel great appreciation and gratitude for the tremendous gift I've been given," Tarleton said in a statement. "We're all excited to move into this new chapter of our lives together."
Tarleton is expected to regain 75 to 80 percent of facial movement with a slow increase of sensation and motor functions over a six-month to one-year period, according to Pomahac.
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