Friday, March 14th 2015 at 10pm my daughter, Kasey Williamson was attacked in the face and the hand by our beloved family dog, Bruno. Bruno was elderly and the vet feels that he attacked her without realizing what he was doing due to dementia. Bruno was laying at the end of the couch when Kasey sat down next to him. I was on her other side. Kasey turned to Bruno and said "Bruno, I love you", like she did several times a day over the past 10 years since she first met Bruno. They were best friends. Bruno would always reply back to Kasey with a doggy version of "I love you" with a mild sound - not a growl, but some type of doggy talk. That night his reply was totally different. It was a gut growl and horrible sound! As I turned to look at Kasey (she was sitting so close to me that our legs were touching), I was saying "Kasey...Watch!" and at that second Kasey was up off the couch with Bruno attached to her hand! He had silently attacked and struck her face with harsh force 3 times before she sacrificed her hand to stop from the mauling of her face or possible jugular vein. My husband Enzo, Kasey's step father, ran to get Bruno off of her. Bruno weighed over 150 pounds - about 30 more pounds than Kasey. As we took Kasey to the bathroom, the blood was gushing from her face - it looked like a murder scene from TV. Kasey was 21 years old at the time of the attack. Bruno savagely ripped off Kasey's face from her nostrils to the skin above her upper lip, tore through her upper lip, slashed her cheek in several areas and bit through her right hand. When I say he ripped off her face, I mean it in a very true literal sense. My daughter had to hold her skin and mouth up in a towel to close to her face to try to stop it from ripping the rest of the way off. She had a gaping tear beneath her nose that went all the way through to her gum - her teeth were visible where her skin, lips and mouth used to be. She bled profusely. It was a sickening sight to see our beautiful daughter mauled beyond recognition. As we held her over the bathroom sink, she saw what was left of her face. The look in her eyes at that moment is indescribable. She was in shock. Enzo actually ran outside to vomit after the police and ambulance arrived at our home...and then he cried, as for 10 years, Kasey was more than a stepdaugher to him. He loves Kasey so very much, just as if she was his own daughter. Bruno had been his dog when we met. He had loved Bruno very much also. We knew that this was the end of Bruno's life, as he would be put to sleep. We feared that our beautiful daughter's life would never be the same. I was terrified that Kasey would live the rest of her life with her face hidden like the woman that was attacked by the chimpanzee. Yes, I seriously thought that! The paramedics arrived to take her to Morristown Hospital. As they loaded Kasey into the back of the ambulance/truck, they told me that I could ride in the front, but not with Kasey. That broke my heart. But when Kasey saw the fear in my eyes, as she held her face on with a towel, the mumbled to me..."Mommy, Harness the strength". I did not know that that would become my mantra...but numerous times since that day, I repeat those words..."Harness the strength"/ Kasey certainly did...and if she was the one suffering so much and she had such great strength, then I had to also! They thought she may need to be medivaced. We had to stop along the way for another team to evaluate her as she was in horrific pain and was still bleeding. We were told that she would have probably bled to death if we had not been home with her at the time of the attack. They gave us the okay to proceed in the ambulance. We arrived at the Morristown ER and it was packed with people. Kasey's mouth and face had torn off more along the trip. She was still bleeding. She was in extreme agony. They propped her in a wheelchair and had her waiting in the crowd in the ER. I went to the nurses desk and begged for someone to get her into a room. All I could think of was that her face kept tearing more and more and that there was so much bacteria with all those other people around her. A kind triage nurse helped me. She asked Kasey's age...and then said, well, she's not that old...let's get her into Pediatric ER. She was a blessing (along with the paramedics). Once in a room, the ER doctor tended to Kasey. He said that he was calling for a plastic surgeon to "try" to help her. A short time later, Dr. David Evdokimow quietly came into her room. I thought for sure that I would see horror in his eyes...but no. He was very calm as he evaluated Kasey. He was very matter of fact. He told us that he would be taking her into surgery to do what he could to try to repair the damage. We knew that there was no guarantee...but we prayed for Dr. Evdokimow to perform a miracle. Going into surgery, I had to sign a form with the anesthesiologist because he was not sure if they were going to be able to sedate her the normal way being that her face was torn off - where the mask and tubes would normally go. I still don't know how they did the sedation and the surgery together, but somehow Dr. Evdokimow did it. Hours later, almost sunrise, Dr. Evdokimow met us in the recovery area to discuss and look at Kasey's face. Her face reminded me of the character Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. A beautiful face that no longer looked beautiful - all stitched up to hold it together. Even looking at that, I rejoiced and cried as I thanked Dr. Evdokimow for putting Kasey's face back together. Even her lip, which we thought could not be repaired. Her face was swollen beyond belief...all bloody...all stitches...still horrific looking...but Dr. Evdokimow gave us hope! Kasey could not eat or drink...and would not be able to eat solid foods or brush her teeth for months. She could not speak due to the stitches inside and out. She was heavily sedated due to the pain. I got her a notepad and pen so that she could communicate, but it was difficult as her right hand was also stitched up and she had to try to write left handed (she's a righty). On March 17th, late afternoon, she was released. She suffered PTSD from the attack. She was on medication for pain and for the anxiety. She had to hold a scarf over her face, only her eyes exposed for many days. We returned to Dr. Evdokimow's office for a follow up shortly after she came home. Kasey was so upset - so depressed - I had never seen her so hopeless...and I could not blame her for her feelings. Her face was not hers anymore. We had no idea if her face would ever be hers again. She was still in so much pain. Dr. Evdokimow examined her face, which was so incredibly painful for her. Her nerves were severed. Her smile was gone! Her mouth was hideously crooked and scarred terribly. He said that she had hypertrophic scarring due to the dog bite and the saliva. Her face was thick and hard and immobile. And painful. Kasey was so angry about her face being broken. He told her to give it time...6 months to see if the nerves would heal. On that visit, he gave Kasey Scarguard and a lotion to apply as she began to heal. After that visit, Kasey had to return home and prepare to say goodbye to Bruno. After his quarantine was over, he had to be put to sleep. Kasey said that losing Bruno was the worst part of this entire tragedy. Can you imagine that? She lost her face, her smile and her best friend within 10 days. But she still felt that the loss of Bruno was the greatest loss of all. One of her greatest gains of all was Dr. Evdokimow! He is/was truly a blessing from God! He is/was our Angel! He is a miracle worker...and I am being 100% truthful when I say that! What he did for Kasey is truly miraculous!!! As she started to heal, he began treating her scars with lasers. It was a process! Pain meds before we arrived to start to help with the anticipated pain. Numbing gel on her face for 1/2 hour before to help. Then the zapping of the lasers. Kasey was again in agonizing pain! She squeezed my hands so hard that she bent my rings. She sobbed. She did not want to continue. She was angry with Dr. Evdokimow whenever he told her to be patient and to give it time. But, as time went on, and the treatments continued, we saw improvement! Her 22nd birthday in July was so sad, but so happy. She had terrible scars and a crooked smile..but she was actually able to smile! We rejoiced when she could move her lips to give us a kiss! She had meltdowns along the way. The inside of her mouth looked like puzzle pieces sewn together, but her skin on her face was starting to improve...the scarring was fading a little. More lasers...more pain...more progress!! 6 months later, we could see that the nerves were healing!! More lasers...more pain...more progress!!! Her follow up visits to Dr. Evdokimow in December 2014 and January 2015 were wonderful!!! He felt that she had made a full recovery!!! Yes, there are still a few small scars, but no one would ever, ever, ever know that her face had been torn off, ripped apart, mangled and mauled! Dr. Evdokimow and his staff (thank you Gail and Nada) worked so very hard to get insurance to pay for her treatments, as the insurance company thought that she could live with scars all over her face. Dr. Evdokimow absorbed what insurance would not pay, instead of collecting it from us...which I can't thank him enough for! On the 1 year anniversary of the attack, Kasey made a photo collage...Before the attack as she was happily laying with her buddy Bruno, the morning after the surgery (she insisted that we take photos all along the recovery), a photo of her midway through recovery and a photo of her on March 14th, 2015...with a HUGE BEAUTIFUL SMILE!!!!! It is amazing! I show people the collage all the time! I tell people about our Angel, Dr. Evdokimow (and his very patient, wonderful staff, too)! As I write this today, it is exactly 1 year and 7 months since the accident (yes, we do feel it was an accident because Bruno did not realize what he was doing). Kasey actually told Enzo and I that fact last night...1 year and 7 months...and going strong! There was so many ups and downs...she had to leave college, change eating habits (her teeth were bruised from the impact which took time to heal), see a psychiatrist and psychologist for PTSD, stop yoga (and happily start again), live without pain meds and restart her life. Dr. Evdokimow is the person that put our daughter back together again. Without him rushing to the ER that night, I don't know how any of this would have turned out. Dr. Evdokimow is incredible. His skill is amazing! We love him for everything that he did to save our daughter - yes save her! Kasey had suffered with another trauma and illness prior to the attack. The attack caused her to hit rock bottom emotionally. We worried for her future. She is now 23 years old, looks beautiful, has an incredible smile, laughs alot, loves even more...and is truly beautiful on the inside as she always was! She is the strongest person that I have ever met! The pain, the suffering, the disfigurement, the limitations, not many of us can handle one of these, but she handled all of it with dignity, strength and grace (yes, she eventually was no longer mad at Dr. Evdokimow for telling her that she would smile again - instead they became great friends during our visits - and they would tease each other and kid around - and laugh and smile)!! We are all so very, very, very grateful and appreciative to have Dr. Evdokimow in our lives! Without him, I can't imagine what any of our lives, especially Kasey's would be like...and I don't ever want to, either! Dr. Evdokimow is truly among our greatest of blessings!!! I mean that from the bottom of my heart!!! Truly the best of the best!!! We did not know if she would have a future...and Dr. Evdokimow gave her a future to look forward to!
by T.P
xxx.xxx.167.26
March 15, 2016
