Photos: Transplant recipient meets wife of man who donated her husband's face
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Andy Sandness, left, gets a hug from Dr. Samir Mardini at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Mardini led a 56-hour transplant surgery to give Sandness the face that once belonged to Calen "Rudy" Ross. Ross and Sandness' ages, blood type, skin color and facial structure were such a near-perfect match that Mardini said the two men could have been cousins. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross speaks during an interview Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Sixteen months after transplant surgery gave Andy Sandness the face that once belonged to Ross' husband Calen "Rudy" Ross, he met the woman who had agreed to donate her high school sweetheart's face to a man who lived nearly a decade without one. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Face transplant recipient Andy Sandness talks with 17-month-old Leonard Ross as they look out a window at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Lilly Ross consented to the face transplant from her husband, despite her hesitation about someday seeing Rudy's face on a stranger. Eight months pregnant at the time, she said one reason to go forward was that she wanted the couple's child to one day understand what his father did to help others. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross, right, holds her toddler son Leonard as she talks with face transplant recipient Andy Sandness, left, after their first meeting at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Ross consented to the face transplant from her husband, despite her hesitation about someday seeing Rudy's face on a stranger. Eight months pregnant at the time, she said one reason to go forward was that she wanted the couple's child to one day understand what his father did to help others. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross, left, shows family photos to face transplant recipient Andy Sandness after meeting at a library at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. The meeting was arranged by the hospital, where Sandness underwent a 56-hour surgery that was the clinic's first such transplant. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross, left, shows her family photos to Andy Sandness during their meeting at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Sixteen months after transplant surgery gave Sandness the face that once belonged to Ross' husband, Calen "Rudy" Ross, he met the woman who had agreed to donate her high school sweetheart's face to a man who lived nearly a decade without one. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Face transplant recipient Andy Sandness holds his toddler Leonard Ross after meeting at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Leonard's mother, Lilly, and Sandness say they plan to forge a stronger connection, and Sandness said he'll contribute to a trust fund for Leonard's education. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross, left, talks with Andy Sandness after meeting at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Sixteen months after transplant surgery gave Sandness the face that once belonged to Calen "Rudy" Ross, he met the woman who had agreed to donate her high school sweetheart's face to a man who lived nearly a decade without one. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross, left, hugs face transplant recipient Andy Sandness as they first meet in a library at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Sixteen months after transplant surgery gave Sandness the face that once belonged to her husband, Calen "Rudy" Ross, he met the woman who had agreed to donate her high school sweetheart's face to a man who lived nearly a decade without one. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross wipes a tear from her eye as she talks about her deceased husband, Calen "Rudy" Ross, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. For Ross, just meeting face transplant recipient Andy Sandness felt like a huge release -- a way to get past a year filled with grieving, funeral planning, childbirth and gut-wrenching decisions about organ donations from her husband. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Face transplant recipient Andy Sandness speaks during an interview Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Life with a transplanted face takes work, every day. Sandness is on a daily regimen of anti-rejection medication. He's constantly working to retrain his nerves to operate in sync with his new face, giving himself facial massages and striving to improve his speech by running through the alphabet while driving or showering. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Lilly Ross, right, reacts as she talks with face transplant recipient Andy Sandness during their first meeting at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Ross had fretted before the meeting, fearful of the certain reminders of her husband, who took his own life. But her stress quickly melted away without Calen's eyes, forehead or strong cheeks, Sandness didn't look like him, she told herself. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Andy Sandness, left, gets a hug from Dr. Samir Mardini at the Mayo Clinic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, in Rochester, Minn. Mardini led a 56-hour transplant surgery to give Sandness the face that once belonged to Calen "Rudy" Ross. Ross and Sandness' ages, blood type, skin color and facial structure were such a near-perfect match that Mardini said the two men could have been cousins. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
