Beer Steak Bullshit

Connie Culp is America’s first patient to undergo full face transplant operation. She was shot in the face by her husband Thomas Culp four years ago. The gunshot blasted part of her face off leaving her with a gushing hole in the middle of her face. After she had lived with her deformed face for years, Connie Culp was given a face from a dead woman who agreed to donate part of her body.

Plastic surgeons from Cleveland Clinic took on the challenge of transplanting full face onto a woman - something that has not been done in this country before. And the results? Connie Culp is still a little stiff in her facial expressions, but she can talk, smell and taste again.

Connie Culp Story

Connie Culp was shot in the face by what was obviously a failed murder suicide. Her husband Thomas Culp took a shot at his wife and then turned a gun on himself. Both Connie Culp and the shooter survived. Thomas Culp was sent to jail for seven years.

The gunshot however deformed Connie Culp’s face to a point that kids would run away screaming in horror when she walked down the street. The bone structure of her face was severely damaged, she had no nose and the only way she could breathe was through tracheotomy. Her sense of smell was destroyed, as were her eating and drinking reflexes.

To deal with her deformed face, Connie Culp underwent several reconstructive surgeries but they delivered little results. But that all changed in December of 2008. Connie Culp went under the scalpel of plastic surgeons to receive a full face transplant. She got new facial skin, the whole bone structure underneath the skin, all facial nerves are new and so are facial muscles. Connie Culp also received new lower eyelids and palates.

The full facial reconstructive surgery of Connie Culp took 22 hours. 22 hours of hard work which resulted in successful face transplant. According to doctors, new facial nerves she got will slowly catch on and Connie will soon be able to show emotions. She’s already able to taste and smell again and can drink from the cup. Not to mention that she can breathe through her new nose and doesn’t need a hole in her throat anymore. But as Connie herself says, the biggest relief is that facial pain she was experiencing is almost gone.

After few months on her own, Connie Culp showed her face to the public. You can see the difference from the photos provided. It’s truly an achievement. Below is the video from the press conference with Connie Culp. It’s an inspiring video to watch and makes you appreciate what you have:

And a gallery of photos showing Connie Culp before and after the face transplant surgery.

German authorities issued an arrest warrant on March 11, 2009 for alleged n=Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk aka Ivan the Terrible. John Demjanjuk was a Nazi guard at Sobibor Concentration Camp in today’s Poland and is believed to be responsible for killing of 29,000 Jews.

John Demjanjuk was born in the Ukraine but lived in the USA since 1952. He was first identified as Ivan the Terrible in 1977 when former prisoner from Treblinka Concentration Camp recognized him. USA extradicted him to Israel in 1986 where he was sentenced to death, but later released after another Nazi guard - Ivan Marchenko was identified by Soviet KGB as Ivan the Terrible in 1993.

John Demjanjuk returned to the USA, but his citizenship has been taken away for lying about his wartime activities. He remained in Cleveland, Ohio but was under constant watch. US authorities re-initiated investigation against him in 1999 after new witnesses identified him as Nazi Sobibor death camp guard who was seen abusing Jews by kicking them and hitting them with rifle butt.

The name of John Demjanjuk remains on a Simon Wiesenthal Center list of the most wanted Nazi war criminals. Germany now claim that they have new evidence he is the camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible and their newly obtained materials allow them to pursue the case. A German court expects US authorities to expell John Demjanjuk and if it doesn’t happen, they will follow up with a formal extradition request.

Retired automotive worker John Demjanjuk is now 88 year old. He’s charged with more than 29 thousand counts of accessory to murder. He denies the charges and denies that he’s Ivan the Terrible from Sobibor Concentration Camp. His son says that John Demjanjuk is not in good enough health to take on a long distance flight. His wife says they just want to live the rest of their lives and die in peace. It would be interesting to know what kind of evidence Germans came by. Is John Demjanjuk really Ivan the Terrible? If he is Ivan the Terrible, why the hell would he come back to Cleveland after spending 6 years on a death row in Israel. Why would he not go to some lawless country, like Costa Rica? I’m also curious - John Demjanjuk was once tried for being Ivan the Terrible, was found guilty first but then found innocent after another man was identified as Ivan the Terrible. I mean, doesn’t international law commands that one man can only be charged for the same crime once?