Connie Culp, Nation's First Face Transplant, Steps Forward

Connie Culp was the victim of a murder-suicide attempt. Incredibly, both she and her husband Thomas survived. He was sentenced to prison for seven years. She was left with only her upper eyelids, forehead, lower lip and chin. Everything else was destroyed by the shotgun blast, and she had to have a tube to breathe.

Today at the press conference held at the Cleveland Clinic, Connie Culp told us to focus on the donor family, not on her.

“I guess I’m the one you came to see today, I think it’s more important that you focus on the donor family that made it so I could have this person’s face. When somebody has a disfigurement and don’t look as pretty as you do, don’t judge them, because you never know what happened to them, Don’t judge people who don’t look the same as you do. Because you never know. One day it might be all taken away.”

Connie Culp left the hospital on Feb. 5. She will be on immune-suppressing drugs for the rest of her life. However, so far she has suffered only one mild rejection episode that was controlled with a single dose of steroid medicines.

At the same time, Connie Cult can at least do all the things so couldn't do not that long ago: talk, smile, smell and taste her food again. Watch her brave and inspiring press conference in the video posted with this article.