Recluse to cover star: face transplant recipient turns GQ model

17 years ago, Richard Norris could never have imagined he'd one day be the 'face' of GQ magazine.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the then 22-year-old shot himself in the face after a drunken argument with his mother, after declaring he wanted to kill himself.

The blast took everything: his teeth, nose and most of his tongue. While he could still taste, he couldn't smell. Luckily, he kept his vision. Ever since, he's lived the life of a recluse, wearing ski masks to cover his shocking injury whenever he did leave the house.

But two years ago, he underwent one of the most complex facial transplants ever performed (the first was in France, 2005) in a 36-hour operation.

Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Centre transplanted both an upper and lower jaw, teeth, a portion of tongue and facial tissue from the scalp to the base of the neck. Amazingly, only three days later, he was able to smell again for the first time in 15 years.

His doctor, Dr Eduardo Rodriguez told the Daily Mail, that Norris' real limitation is that he'll be dependent on medication for life.

"The immunosuppressant medications carry risks for the patients, who don't know how long the transplant will last." But, all going well, the transplanted face could last 20 to 30 years.

It's something never far from Norris' mind.

"Every day I wake up with that fear: Is this the day? The day I'm going to go into a state of rejection that is going to be so bad that the doctors can't change it?"

Now, despite the fact he's in and out of hospital, and on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life, he's on next month's cover of GQ. And he looks great! Congratulations, Richard, and great work GQ!

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