Youngest Face Transplant Survivor: ‘People Don't Look At Me Like I'm A Monster Any More'

Katie Stubblefield is the youngest person in the world to have had a pioneering face transplant after surviving a suicide attempt at the age of 18

- Poppy Danby

When Katie Stubblefield suffered unimaginable injuries after shooting herself in the face with a hunting rifle, her life changed forever. The then 18-year-old was left severely disfigured, unable to chew, swallow or even breathe on her own after the failed suicide attempt.

After 24 surgeries over four years, last year Katie became the youngest person in the world to have a full face transplant and is finally ready to live life to the full.

Katie, 22, said, “I’m just very thankful to be alive. The face transplant has given me a second chance at life.

“This is like a new beginning or another chapter. I’m definitely smiling more and I feel now that this is my face.”

In the lead-up to that fateful day in March 2014, Katie was overcoming a number of difficulties in her life. Both of her parents had been made redundant and she was suffering from the ill-effects of several severe health problems – including having her appendix and gallbladder removed, alongside digestive issues.

HELPLESS

Katie’s relationship with her then-boyfriend had also broken down after she saw texts messages from another woman on his phone. Feeling completely helpless, Katie drove to her brother Robert’s house and, later that evening, went to his bathroom and shockingly shot herself under the chin using his hunting rifle.

Robert rushed upstairs when he heard the noise. And to his horror, discovered that his sister’s face “was gone”.