E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSFor the past six years Carmen Blandin Tarleton, a 44-year-old registered nurse and mother of two from Thetford, Vt., has been living with a face horribly disfigured by industrial strength lye that was squirted on her by her estranged husband. The attack in June of 2007 left burns on more than 80 percent of Tarleton’s body.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton before the attack and in July 2011, prior to face transplant surgery.
Earlier this month Tarleton became the fifth person to receive a full face transplant at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. During the 15-hour operation that involved more than 30 physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and technicians, surgeons transplanted a donor’s neck, nose, lips, facial muscles, arteries and nerves.
“They were among the worst injuries I’ve seen in my entire career,” Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, director of Plastic Surgery Transplantation, Brigham and Women's Hospital, said at a Wednesday news conference at the Boston hospital. “She was unrecognizable to anyone who knew her. But she was a fighter, and fight she did.”
The surgery was more extensive than the hospital's previous procedures -- including the face transplant operation for chimp attack victim Charla Nash -- because not only was the donor’s face attached, but also her neck, doctors explained.
Tarleton is still recovering and did not attend the hospital event. But in a blog post published Wednesday, she wrote: “I could never have imagined the overwhelming feelings I encountered after my surgery. I could freely move my head from side to side without the usual scar discomfort I have felt for almost six years now. I cried with such a deep appreciation for the persons truly responsible for giving me this gift: this new physical freedom.”
Tarleton was in the process of being divorced from her husband, Herbert Rodgers, when he broke into her home, fractured her skull and broke an arm, according to the Associated Press. He then poured a squeeze bottle filled with lye over her entire body. After being airlifted to the hospital, doctors weren’t sure she would survive her injuries.
Tarleton was in a medically induced coma for three months, during which she received 38 surgeries to try to repair the damage from the lye. Since then there have been another 17.
But even after those surgeries, Tarleton was still unable to control the muscles in her mouth and lips which led to a constant stream of drool. The scarring on her neck blocked her from turning her head. She was left blind in one eye, but can see well enough through the other to read, Pomahac said.
Because of all the prior surgeries and skin grafts, Tarleton’s case presented more complications than other recent transplants. There have been 26 face transplant surgeries worldwide, with seven performed in the United States, said Dr. Daniel Alam, section head for plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. Alam also participated in Charla Nash's procedure.
Tarleton is almost past the point where doctors worry that the face might be rejected by her body, Pomahac said. In the coming weeks, the nerves will start to reconnect and she may regain some sensation.
Tarleton’s sister Kesstan Blandin read a statement from Tarleton at the news conference Wednesday: “I feel great appreciation and gratitude for the tremendous gift that had been given to me that will greatly improve my quality of life. My spirits are high and I have tremendous optimism I want to convey to the donor family what a great gift has been given to me.”
Although the donor’s identity has not been revealed, the family responded: “While we are heartbroken at the loss of a mother, sister and friend, we are comforted that she chose to give the gift of life,” according to a statement read by Richard Luskin, CEO of the New England Organ Bank. “We believe her spirit will live on by the human connections she made in life, including the four she never met. Now their lives are intertwined.”
In 2009, her ex-husband Rodgers was convicted in Vermont for the attack and sentenced to a 30-70 year prison term.
Related:
Lye victim fights to live, family struggles to cope
Va. man gets extensive face transplant after gun accident
Leave a Comment:
My God how mentally deranged doe's a Man have to be to do something as twisted and sick as that to the mother of his children ? What could that woman have done so wrong to make a man act out with such disgraceful vengeance ? Did he think about the horrible effect it would have on the kid's ? How could a Man harbor such rage toward's the woman he once loved and called his wife ? My heart truly goes out to that woman and her kid's ...Good bless and get well soon ...
My Thoughts EXACTLY!
completely insane. driven there, no doubt, by her lawyer who views his job as well done the more hatred he or she foments, and the longer the meter runs.
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/02/lyedousing_victim_faces_estran.html
Link to the court appearance in 2009. How absolutely horrific...
Singlemindedlimits-
More likely he was a dick before he pulled that dick move. Some people just can't stand losing control and that's probably what provoked him- she wanted out and he couldn't handle it. But thanks for the insight in to your character- trying to place the blame on the victim and all.
Good for her, I hope it eases her pain and helps her regain a happy and functional life.
no, keep-it-cool. i am NOT placing any blame on the victim. i would never do that. she is just that. a victim -- most likely a completely innocent victim (but she could never be guilty to the extent that i would blame her for these unspeakable acts) who was damaged in the worst, most unforgivable way. and, i agree that the monster was defective -- probably criminally defective, beforehand, nevertheless, i have seen too many cases where normal people are driven to horrible things, and defective people are driven to unspeakable and unimaginable things as a direct result of the torture applied to them by "family law practitioners", who do exactly as i indicate on my comment to which you paid no attention, but attacked in a purely imagined way. i pray that her healing is miraculous.
Thank you, keep_it_cool for responding to singletermnitwit in a manner consistent with your moniker. I won't even respond directly as I cannot compose a cool-headed response to such misogynistic garbage.
I'd rather be dead than live in extreme constant pain for the rest of my days. She must be tough as nails. This was a horrific crime and I cringe thinking about it.
(side note-He has a resemblance of our dear brother Dr. Cornel West) :-/ pardon the random observation
My thoughts exactly!!! Just walk away people, just walk away and move on. May GOD walk with you for the rest of your life and be there always to comfort you.
Michael
That was a beautiful post, full of compassion for the victim but not being foul towards the man responsible but just questioning why and how. We can all learn from that.
It is all about control. I was married to a man who was quite capable of this type of act. Getting far away helps but depends on how derranged the man really is.
That's amore!
He should have been executed.
Because he is a man...You think with your dick and not you heart or mind.
I don't know what happened to the estranged husband but I would like to think he's serving a life sentence. This may be one of those rare cases where the death penalty might be warranted even though the victim didn't die.
# 1.5, singletermlimits:
And I have seen all too many cases where these allegedly "normal" people you speak of know just exactly how to put on a show in front of others. For those who have to live with those monsters, home life is misery of the kind you can't imagine.
No one, but no one does what this man did because he had any hope of truly reconciling with his wife, and not just because he'd gone full-on psycho because he was losing his pet punching bag on a leash. Let me say it again, perhaps you'll get it: NO ONE. I guarantee you that was all in a normal day's work for him.
The blame goes squarely on the shoulders of the offender, and no place else. That's it, there is no more.
Have to close here now... rather like the comic book Hulk character, you won't like me when I'm angry. Believe it. It's extremely rare that a random person with a clueless comment/opinion on the Web can spark enough interest in me to generate some of the things I'd like to say to you right now. But I'm better than that, and I guess you're just not that bright, so I'll cut you that much slack. You're welcome.
I hope everything goes well for this woman who has already suffered so much... I also hope that selfish, self-centered ex-husband of hers is NEVER paroled. When he did this to her, he gave up his right to live as a free person.
Micheal, this kind of stuff happens all the time but you don't hear about it because it's not widely reported. In Albany, NY a group of girls was targeting people with bleach because they thought it was funny. I can't imagine how much pain this poor woman had to endure. I know I'm in agony when I get a little burn on a finger. I couldn't imagine getting burned on the majority of my body.
Her a*hole ex should have been taken out and shot, plain & simple. Life in prison is not long enough for this coward.
The thing that did this to her (I call it thing because it is no man nor even close to human in any respect) is a very tiny and insignificant blot that will one day fall away to dust and will be no more and this world WILL be better off when that happens!
On a side note here I work in the dept of corrections here in Ohio and when one of these things goes to prison they are not celebrated or respected in prison when they are in there on these types of cases, men who brutalize women are slightly higher on the turd pole than child molesters! Prisoner have mothers, sisters, wives etc. and they DO NOT like the thought of someone hurting their loved ones and when they see something like this (and they most certainly will) they will remind it of just where it is and that it is in their home and they do not like it!!!
Maybe just maybe they were not HIS kids morons. Please at least do some research and read SOME before rushing to comment to be "first". You were the first to get it wrong, congratulations...
"Police say Rodgers believed his wife of six years was seeing another man and went to the house intending to attack him. There was no man there, and Tarleton didn't recognize Rodgers at first. She told him he could have anything he wanted, believing he was a burglar.
When police arrived, he said, "I lost it. I just lost it."
"She said Rodgers, whom she has since divorced, had never assaulted her until the attack, which came four months after they separated."
Gee I bet she wished she had a gun, taser, mace, etc. some kind of tool to defend herself with instead of just telling a supposed burglar/stranger that they can have what ever they want including her or her two daughters. Way to be a good mom and to be able to protect your children from harm. How did she plan on doing that versus a larger and stronger man without a better or equal tool then he had?
Sometimes I think it would be better just get shot sometimes and she is a tough woman to say the least. Yes, women can do some vicious stuff, but I do not think that was the case this time.
Did her ex-husband honest-to-God think he would get away with doing that? Did he not think that he might end up spending a VERY long time in prison, possibly the rest of his life? Or was he so angry and filled with a desire to harm that he simply blocked it out of his mind? Or did he simply not care and view going to prison as the price he would have to pay to "get back" at the mother of his children? I really would like to know what was going on this this man's head at the time of his crime.
Father, God in heaven; we pray for her strength, her love for life, her healing - both physically and spiritually. We thank you for the abilities, love and compassion of these wonderful doctors and nurses that you have provided for her. We ask that you continue to hold her in your loving arms and watch over her in her time of need. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.
I no longer am amazed at the horror one person will inflict on another.. There's little difference in the torture this unbalanced creep put the mother of his children through, then the torture that innocent men, women and children have to endure by those who indulge in terror and war..
It's all about 'man's inhumanity to man', something we still can't seem to stop ourselves from committing everyday!
It's only when I read of someone's courage and fortitude in the face of tragedy, such as this unbelievably valiant lady that my hope for mankind's salvation rises a bit.. The doctors and nurses who commit their lives to helping others make me feel good about the future.. If only all people were as dedicated to making life better for everyone, my God, the world would be such a wonderful place!
People who kill and mame will use any method in their means. This (lye) must have been horrific in its pain and suffering it caused the victim. The man was crazy, anything in his hands would have been lethal. I am glad it was not an assault weapon, those can kill.
Boreal Belle,
Despite your blind anger, you and i have no fundamental disagreement. This monstrous ex-husband deserves the worst that he can get. in a world of perfect justice (which we certainly do not have, but for which i advocate with all of my comments), this guy would be skinned alive. Nevertheless, by your disregard of the victim's statement that he never assaulted her until this attack -- many months after their separation -- you also disregard the possibility that something out there sent him into his horrible blackout rage. In more cases than you obviously understand, and than are reported by the press (who coddle the divorce lawyers and the domestic law system that spawns them) those people push perpetrators over the edge with their tormenting bag of dirty tricks, and, if you peel away the layers, you will see that your simplistic view of bad men does not provide all the answers regarding how we, as a society, can address the murders, mayhem, suicides and depressions that are instigated by the reaction of people -- regardless of how stable to begin with -- as a result of the legal tortures committed by divorce lawyers on both their adversaries, and their own clients. And, as a side note, the expression of your dim view of my intelligence probably doesnt help any more than the rest of your misplaced reaction, but I hope it makes you feel better.
I hope the lady is good with her new face and can heal inside and out. I hope the idiot husband is in jail FOREVER!!!!
Her husband should have gotten Death..... no 30 plus years
Death Penalty is really only penalty you give a person who does this.
And they lived, so why shouldn't all murderers get capital?
Done, End of Story.
I'd rather they have the same horrific fate delivered on to them (which would be worse than death). But barring that, something like this should at least be considered a capital crime.
no, obviously, the punishment he needs is to have lye poured all over his body. the thing is, lye doesnt work instantly. in one case (i dont know if it was this one, because this kind of crime is not an isolated incident), the man tied up the woman and when he poured it on her, she couldnt rinse it off. maybe this poor woman couldnt move because of her other injuries. anyway, he needs to be tied down while he is televised on a prime time special, a generous coating of lye applied to his face, eyes and crotch. then, after its starting to melt his face and he is blind, you can throw him out on the street for anyone to attack while he crawls around blindly. i know i would consider traveling anywhere in the continental us to take a crack at him.
...and she was so pretty too. I've had a lot of nasty stuff done to me from my girlfriends, and never thought to go anywhere near this type of retribution. In fact, I can't recall any retribution...I'm a freaking doormat...
I've had lots of nasty stuff done to me by my girlfriends too, if you know what I mean...hehehe ;)
Stang the doormat: look for a different type of girlfriend, they're out there, honest. Maybe give a girl who's not fashion model material a chance, for example. And remember: no one can step all over you unless you let them.
Mary, you can step on me all night long. =) <333 xoxo
I don't believe in any type of physical altercation in a relationship. If it gets down to that it's time to move on. When you find yourself no longer in love with the person that should matter the most to you, it's time to move on. You're not doing either them or yourself any favors.
Stang,
Walking away from a non-functioning relationship is not being a doormat. It is being an adult. When I split with my ex, I had a few fantasies about retribution, but they usually involved damaging his car, not him. And they were fantasies, not acts.
You're right, this kind of action is beyond the pale. It isn't the fault of the attorneys or the wife or the kids or anybody else. It is the fault of the perpetrator. And if he was capable of this level of rabid viciousness, he must have been hell to live with. People like that don't get married because they're in love. They marry for sex, for control, for ownership or whatever. But their relationships are never about love. No one capable of love could have done what he did. It was retribution because his possession was getting away, because his slave was disobedient, because his punching bag was leaving the room.
I hope and pray for this brave woman, who was so wretchedly attacked by a coward. I hope and pray for your recovery and for the sake of your children. I cannot believe that someone can be so viciously attacked and almost did not survive, but he gets years in jail. I think some of these horrendous attacks need laws that put the attacker on death row. I cannot even imagine the thinking this man had to do something so life destroying like this. This woman lost her freedom and physical identity. She paid a high price for being married and having this man's children. He should pay with his life for what he has done to her.
first of all, its not fair to the kids to say they are his children, they are hers as well, i would imagine they don't want to be tied to that dregs of the earth piece of trash anymore than we would.
Also while i most certainly agree he should be executed with out having the long wait of usual death row inmates i would point out that any horrific method would be waisted on him since he would be dead, the only things it would do would be to demean the people performing the sentence and to hopefully strike fear into the hearts of those idiots who would consider something like this, but lets be honest no one in their right mind would do something like this and thus they would probably not think they would receive this punishment.
I'm with those that think even though she didn't die, that monster deserved the death penalty. I hope this transplant gives her back her life. Thanks to the donor for giving her this chance.
Carmen you are stronger than I'll ever be. I hope the rest of your life is all you want it to be.
This guy needs to be executed and method should be lye immersion. He knows exactly what it does now. That guy needs to feel an cruel and unusual amount of terror before he dies. Not normally an eye for an eye type person but for this guy I'll make an exception.
Here, here!
It is so wonderful that these gifted surgeons were able to do this transplant for you. I can not even imagine the pain you suffered with the burns, you are a brave woman. I pray for your speedy recovery and new life. Beauty is not just on the outside it is reflected in your strength and perseverance through this horrific ordeal.
Hopefully there are some fellow inmates of this Rodgers guy that will help even the score a little. Don't kill him, just make him wish he got the death penalty!
I've been in there. Those lifers don't stop liking booty when they get locked up and when your release date is not a year or two away these dudes change their taste in booty. Trust me this guy is giving it up one way or another. Being easy or playing hard to get he's getting played from behind, I promise.
I agree with the people who say she is brave. I could not be so brave. I would cry out to God asking why he did not let me die. The man who did this did not think of her as a person, only as a posession.
I agree with some of the other comments here. True justice in this case would have demanded the death penalty for this monster. There is not a single reason why he should be allowed to continue to breathe. And I hope he burns in Hell for eternity. What a piece of sh*t.
May she heal well and may he rot in jail forever.
He shouldn't be executed. He should be tortured for 30 years. She's been tortured, going through that pain, deformity and then surgeries.
What a monster that Rodgers character is. Hope he get's a good rodgering when he bends over to get the soap in the prison shower and a shank on the yard... No use to this society.
Throw lye in his face and life in prison.. and if the softies says no to that, then gas him.. I dont want to support this @!$%# for the next 50 years in the slammer but I will if he gets a face full of lye..
My heart goes out to this woman. I pray her new face heals well, and she heals inside and out. God bless her for going on. This should happen to no one.
My God, I had a hard time just looking at her photograph. I can't even imagine what pain she felt as the lye burned her and all the subsequent pain she's endured. Her ex-husband should be made to feel the same level of pain for as long as he lives.
I agree that her photo was really disturbing when I first saw. I'm thankful she won't have to look like this anymore once her new face fully heals and takes.
Actually he should be hung up by his testicles until either he dies, or the testicles give way and rip out. Then let him lay there and bleed to death. What an complete rectum he is.
This is why women should be kept out of positions of authority. Up your dosage and find yourself a 'life partner'.
SallyAnn, you are a sad little thing. I hope your life gets better.
Wow Hater1 it is people like you that breed people like this man, if he can even be called that, more like a monster.
I don't agree with SallyAnn because that is just violent but still
Don't hate the Hater1, Daisy. Women do a lot of messed up stuff. Things they wouldn't do if the thought there would be consequences. Women in charge of anything but a kitchen is a huge mistake. It sucks to come to work for a boss on an emotional roller coaster. (even worse for that 1 SPECIAL week of the month) That's why I refuse to work for or promote women
You're a fool Hater 1.
It doesn't mean I wouldn't take you gals out to dinner. I love women. It's just that they can't be trusted with decision making. Next time you're in Aspen look me up... hahahaha.
Would you go back to middle school and 4chan? You're stinking up the place with your immaturity Hater.
You're welcome for dinner as well... 4chan???
"Hater 1
This is why women should be kept out of positions of authority. Up your dosage and find yourself a 'life partner'."
Yeah, 'cause you men have given the world the royal "F" up for a very LONG documented time. What are you, some kind of ignorant Taliband extremist???
Taliband??? I think that's a Jamaican musical group. However, Taliban I am not. I am a Capitalist, sugar t!ts. The driving force that provides all the things that make civilized society possible. From electricity all the way down to that futon your ass is propped up on. Men have created ALL that. Next man you see... thank him! By the way ... is your screen name your bra size? Just wondering.
hater..lol "Taliband" is the Taliban's fave rap group DUH!! :) thgt u knew that sugarnuts!! (im joking with u..hope women are allowed to do that in aspen!!)
im with sally. and i would guess that hater is the one on the meds, and i bet they cost his mom plenty!
That is what the bible talked about in Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
God will heal you inside and out. As difficult as this may seem, find it somewhere in your heart to forgive him and release yourself
You are joking, right?
Stay strong and live as happy and well as you can...that is the ultimate revenge. He deserves the same treatment.
Hey, NBC, how about a little "head's up" in the title about the picture. I feel terrible for this woman, but I really didn't need to see that...
If she had the courage to LIVE her life like that, you have the DECENCY to look her in the face and treat her like the HUMAN BEING that she is!
Grow a set, would ya?
What are you talking about? I'm not 'treating' her like anything. I'm not communicating or interacting with her; so it's not like I'm being socially inappropriate toward her. I just clicked on a link to read a story and was forced to look at a disturbing picture that would have rather not seen. There's a reason newspapers and TV news channels don't publish pictures of murder victims, car crash scenes, or of stories like this...because people don't need/want to see it.
My 'set' is doing just fine, thank you. But you need to lighten up.
Wow! Bless her heart! I pray for her continued healing! It's so scary having a daughter in this day and time. I pray she never endures anything of this magnitude. Praying for a quick recovery.
To this day victims of crime in the United States have no right to reject plea bargains - making the prospects of a lighter sentence for a crime a lot easier to receive. It’s okay to plea bargain away a victim’s insignificant life to preserve a precious criminal – they, the criminal, always deserve a second chance and the tax payer should feel happy fund this welfare system. And don’t forget a Judge should never be held responsible for the decisions they make - unlike a Doctor or an Engineer or even a Cook.
Victims are people too. They deserve an equal say for an appropriate punishment and the right to fight for it in a court of law just as a criminal has to right to defend from it.
Please kill yourself.
Court and Prison is for society, not for the victim.
Revenge gets you nothing.
Hope someone in jail throws lye in the husband's face so he can see what it feels like.
I'd at least leave the bastard sight in ONE eye.....so he can look at himself. On a side note......I predict that Chris Browne will try to pull a similar stunt on Rihanna.......If she ever comes to her senses & dumps that asshat thug.
while he's being raped
I wish her the best, I hope that monster that did this is suffering in prison or better yet dead.