A teenager, attacked by a raccoon as a newborn, is the focus of an elite team of doctors working to help her regain her appearance.
Charlotte Ponce has been through 11 surgeries since 2012 when Beaumont Hospital’s Dr. Kongkrit Chaiyasate took on her case.
She was just three months old when she was attacked by a pet raccoon, today she is 15 years old.
After that attack her face was left with severe injuries.
"You can see the missing lip, missing nose and a missing ear,” said Kongkrit Chaiyasate, describing the pictures of Charlotte from years ago.
Her family invited 7 Action News to follow Charlotte's remarkable progress and inspirational journey over the years as her surgeries replaced her nose, upper lip and ear.
This week, Dr. Chaiyasate performed another surgery to touch up her face as her body continues to grow. "The stitches are still there but you can see that I added tissue to her nose, the tissue here comes from her ear."
He also used fat from her stomach to fill in her cheek and touched up that new ear that was attached back in 2014.
When asked about all the medical attention the teen has few words, only describing it as “very tiring and boring."
After that attack when she was a baby Charlotte's parents lost custody, and her adoptive parents, an aunt and uncle, have stayed by her side for every grueling surgery.
"I'm amazed at her strength and her courage. She doesn't talk about that, but it takes a lot of courage to go through what she's gone through,” said Sharon Ponce.
"She's a tough cookie,” said her doctor.
Dr. Chaiyasate says this will be Charlotte's only surgery for this year which means now she can focus on her new love for swimming and gymnastics.
