Rebekah told Richard she ‘grew up with that face’ (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube)

Richard Norris, 39, was left badly disfigured after he accidentally shot himself in the face in 1997.

In the years following, he underwent more than 30 operations to correct some of the damage but saw little improvement.

MORE: Man gets new neck, mouth, tongue and throat in world’s first face transplant

Richard Norris accidentally shot himself aged just 22 (Picture: AP)

Then, three years ago, 21-year-old Joshua Aversano died in a car accident and out of that tragedy came hope.


Thanks to transplant surgery, Joshua’s face was grafted onto Richard’s body.

The moment where Joshua’s sister Rebekah sees ‘the face she grew up with’ is really something.

MORE: Shotgun victim who received full face transplant learns how to kiss again

The chance of surviving the transplant was just 50 percent (Picture: AP)

In footage that will be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, a stunned Rebekah asks Richard if ‘she can touch it [his face]?’ and backs away in disbelief when she does.



Rebekah’s mother Gwen told CTV News that donating Joshua’s face to Richard was ‘the right thing to do’.

‘We can definitely see our son in him,’ she said.

MORE: Woman who could not eat or talk gets full face transplant

Richard underwent 36 hours of surgery (Picture: AP)

‘We are just so pleased to have been able to help him, even though we had such a tragic loss, we were able to give someone else the benefit of our son.’

Richard underwent 36 hours of surgery at the Maryland Medical Centre for the transplant in an operation that was considered controversial because Richard only had a 50 percent chance of survival.

Though the surgery was successful, The road ahead isn’t easy for Mr. Norris. For the rest of his life, he will have to take a number of drugs to suppress his immune system, which will continually treat the face as a foreign object and try to reject it.

MORE: Gun victim face transplant a success after ‘most extensive’ surgery to date

Though life still isn’t easy for Richard, it has vastly improved (Picture: AP)

Drinking, smoking and serious injury to the body also increase the likelihood of rejection, and an incident where he was sunburnt already triggered a severe rejection episode, from which he took weeks to recover.

Nevertheless, his life has vastly improved since the operation. He is no longer afraid to leave the house, and no longer faces cruelty from strangers. He said he was humbled by the donation and regularly keeps the Aversono family updated on his health and happiness.

MORE: Full face transplant man: I did it for my daughter

(Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube) (Picture: 60 Minutes/YouTube)