It was a typical summer day for 23-year-old American Dallas Wiens. He was on his way to paint the walls of a church. Little did he know this day would change his life forever. He was getting ready to pack away his work tools and climb down from the roof when he realized that the motorized lift he was standing on was moving.
The machine rolled into high voltage power lines. Unfortunately, Dallas was at face-level with the deadly wires.
He was immediately flown to the hospital - every moment was vital. An emergency operation was his only chance of survival. Dallas survived the accident and the operation, but he paid a high price.
The skin on his face was melted by the enormous amount of electricity in the wires. He lost his eyes, his nose, and all of his teeth. He was barely recognizable. Amazingly, he suffered no brain damage. He is still able speak, think, and operate normally. There's only one thing he can't do:
He can't kiss his daughter. Even though he now says that his accident was a gift from God, giving him a second chance at life, he lacks the lips to kiss his little one. That was until he came across a daring suggestion.
Surgeon Bohdan Pomahač from the Czech Republic, devised a complete face transplant! It is a very risky procedure with unknown outcomes.
But they were successful! Dallas received the face of a man who had died in a car accident. Through this man's incredibly selfless donation, Dallas can now show all sorts of facial expressions. He has motor control of his new face, he can speak - it is a miracle that his body has accepted this 'foreign' face.
He was unable to regain his sight, but that wasn't the most important thing for Dallas. He simply wanted to be closer to his daughter again. Upon seeing him, the girl instantly threw her arms around his neck and enthusiastically cried, "You're so beautiful, Daddy!"
Dallas was horribly disfigured for years. But he knew that it was a miracle that he'd even survived. If you find the wonders of medicine fascinating and this story moves you, share it with your friends!
