*Warning: Readers may find the pics below disturbing.
In Feb 2009, 55 year old Charla Nash was viciously attacked by her friend Sandra Herold's pet chimp Travis. Travis had been living with Sandra as a pet. She treated the chimp like a child. The attack happened when Sandra called Charla to help with Travis, but when Charla arrived at Sandra's house that night, Travis turned on her.
The animal broke most of the bones in her face and ripped off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids during the vicious assault in Stamford, Connecticut. Doctors removed her eyes due to an infection, and only recently did she learn she'll no longer be able to see.
A large part of her scalp is missing, she only has one thumb and is fed fluids through a straw in a hole in her face specially created by doctors.
Charla marked her 56th birthday by speaking about the incident for the first time, by appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday Wednesday 11th 2009. She normally wears a veil in front of her face to cover her injuries but agreed to lift it on the programme.
"People are going to say what they're going to say," she said. "I need to move forward and get better and stronger." She added: "I'm the one who has to look like this. Not them. So it doesn't matter what they say."
Now brace yourselves...and remember there was a warning sign at the beginning of this post....
Charla Nash before the attack
Charla after the attack
The police shot Travis dead after the attack on Charla.
Charla is suing Sandra for $50m over the chimp attack.
What a tragic thing to happen to her. May God give her the strength she needs to cope with this.
