A California resident, Cameron enjoyed outdoor sports such as fishing and snowboarding, and worked as a welder and machinist. In 2016, he lost the majority of his lower jaw and his nose from a ballistic injury. He also had damage to his upper face, and the injury severely impacted his ability to lead a normal life.

When Cameron and his mother read about Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, and his patients’ successful procedures at NYU Langone’s Face Transplant Program, they were confident that he could help Cameron. Eighteen months after his initial injury, Cameron flew to New York City to have the surgery with Dr. Rodriguez.

Cameron’s procedure took only 25 hours—11 hours less than the previous face transplant performed at NYU Langone. Eleven weeks later—several weeks ahead of his anticipated recovery schedule—Cameron returned home to California, just in time to celebrate the 2018 Easter holiday with his family.

“The journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s been well worth it.”—Cameron, Age 26

“[The donor] and his family made an incredible sacrifice to give back to me what had been lost,” Cameron says. “I will not forget that. I’m also eternally grateful to Dr. Rodriguez and his face transplant team. My family and I could not have made this journey without them.”