ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) – Now that Charlotte Ponce has her ear, she’s looking to accessorize.
“I can finally wear earrings,” the 12-year-old said from her hospital bed in suburban Detroit.
Charlotte, whose face was mauled by a pet raccoon when she was a baby, is celebrating the completion of two years’ worth of reconstructive surgical procedures.
Since August 2012, she has had her upper lip repaired, her nose rebuilt and been given a new right ear. She underwent skin graft surgery last week on the arm where her ear was harvested.
On Monday, Charlotte, her parents and the surgeon looked back on her journey.