A man has made a miraculous recovery after he fell 30ft at his home in America.
Justin Starks, 24, had landed on his chin, breaking every bone in his face in doing so.
But, miraculously he suffered no brain damage or fractures to his skull following the fall, which took place on November 31.
He broke all of the 14 facial bones, which included both inferior nasal concha, his lacrimal bones, mandible, maxilla bones, nasal bones, palatine bones, the vomer and zygomatic bones.
‘While I do not remember the impact, I do know that I landed on my chin’, said Justin.
He had been at home in Stanford, California, when the fall took place.
He said: ‘The doctors were extremely shocked to see the damage to my face, but specifically, the fact I had no fractures to my skull at all.’
Justin, a software engineer, had to go through two rounds of surgery to save his face.
A third one is scheduled for later this year.
He added: ‘The last thing I remembered was being on my balcony, I don’t actually remember falling, I don’t remember hitting the ground.
‘A lot of people tell me “oh my god that must be the most painful experience imaginable,” but I simply do not remember.’
Justin’s injuries were so severe that medics had to model, and 3D print, 90 screws and 30 plates that were placed along his remaining bones.
The technique was seen in detail during an MRI scan, where the plates ‘lit up like a Christmas tree.’
Justin’s road to recovery began in December, when he had his initial surgery and spent two weeks in the hospital.
The 24-year-old’s jaw was fused back together after it was split in two, which resulted in the wiring shut of his mouth.
Justin was forced to survive on a clear-liquid diet only, which was basically ‘broth and water’.
His second round of surgery was a month later, and involved doctors cutting across the top of his head from ear to ear and ‘peeling’ his face off and ‘putting him back together.’
After the second surgery, his strength was reduced, and he felt ‘weak generally’ having to be carried upstairs by his dad and brother.
By February, he began the bulk of his recovery.
And last month, the 24-year-old said the swelling had reduced massively and the facial reconstruction ‘was looking pretty good’.
His injury didn’t just come with the physical damage but carried some mental health issues as well.
Justin had to see a psychiatrist for issues relating to post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said: ‘I used to consider myself a pretty attractive guy and to go out and look in a mirror and see my face swollen and puffy and not what I wanted it to be.
‘I did have some insecurities about that.’
The whole facial reconstruction surgery will take around one year to properly complete and recover.
Once the third and final surgery is complete, he said that he will be on his way to feeling ‘one hundred percent normal.’
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