A YOUNG mum’s life changed forever when a dog ripped her nose off, leaving her unrecognisable and with a mountain of medical bills.
Yoga instructor Jordan Wilson, 26, has had to undergo extensive nasal reconstructive surgery to repair the damage caused to her face.
The Pennsylvania mum had been staying with her brother-in-law and his girlfriend, along with their two dogs – a Boerboel and a Labrador – when she was brutally mauled in April 2022.
Jordan said both of the dogs had let her pat them and were friendly throughout the week when she and her boyfriend were visiting.
Tragedy struck one evening after the pair returned home from dinner and the Boerboel, which was on a leash because it was known to be “territorial”, suddenly lunged at Jordan.
Her boyfriend later recounted that the dog had approached her as though it was intending to lick her face, but instead clamped its jaws onto her nose and refused to let go.
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Jordan blacked out, regaining her senses only when the dog’s owner intervened to pull the animal away from her.
She explained: “I was holding my face, and blood was pouring through my fingers.
“I was surprisingly calm and felt no pain, but I knew I had to go to the hospital.”
The Warren County mum was rushed to Tampa General Hospital, only to be taken by ambulance to a different hospital in the area as the first did not have the plastic surgeons she required on staff.
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At the second facility, the doctors cleaned the wound in the centre of her face and covered it with an artificial skin substitute; it was to be the first of many operations she was yet to endure.
Jordan soon discovered she would have to undergo forehead flap reconstruction, which is when a flap of skin is freed from the forehead and attached over the wound on the nose.
But finding a surgeon qualified to perform the reconstruction was no easy task – the procedure is so specialised in nature that only a handful of surgeons across the world can perform it, Jordan said.
Finally, she was put in touch with someone who could help.
The surgeon, Dr James Thornton, was located in Texas, meaning Jordan and her boyfriend had to relocate to Dallas.
She went in for the procedure the same day she arrived.
After a four-stage reconstruction of her forehead flap, Jordan underwent an additional nine surgical procedures – some of which involved taking cartilage from her ribs – with two more to go.
Jordan said: “It’s still super swollen, but I’m positive about the results.
“I’ve accepted the reality that I will never have the same face again, and as a result, I haven’t spent a lot of time being overly depressed about the situation.
“I have maintained a generally optimistic attitude, but sometimes it’s hard.”
She continued: “I have good and bad days, but my boyfriend and son help me stay positive.”
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Jordan has had to lean on her circle for emotional support since her attack, and appeal for help from her wider community in paying the many medical bills that have come with her nasal reconstruction.
A GoFundMe campaign was created by a friend of Jordan’s to allow the young mum to focus on her healing.
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