Charla Nash

Charla Nash was a 55 year-old Stamford, Connecticut resident and employee of Sandra Herold when, on February 16, 2009, she was attacked by Herold's 200lb. chimpanzee Travis. Her face and hands were severely mauled in the attack, and she underwent both hand and facial transplant surgery to repair the damages.

Personal life

Pre-attack

Nash was introduced to the Herold's several years prior to the attack via the travelling rodeo circuit. She was an 18 year old runaway at the time, and made fast friends with the Herold's daughter, Sue. They eventually lost contact, and in the intervening years the Herold's purchased the chimpanzee Travis; in their home they set up a caged room for him and an outside area. Despite these accommodations, when the Herold's were home, Travis often had roam of the house. Following the death of Sandra Herold's daughter Sue in 2000 and husband Jerry in 2005, Nash and Herold reconnected. Herold invited Nash and her then 12-year-old daughter to live rent free in Sue's former loft apartment and Nash was given a job as dispatch for Herold's towing company. On February 16, 2009, Herold called Nash regarding her trouble controlling Travis' behaviour. Herold and Nash dispute this phone call: Herold claims that Nash volunteered to assist with Travis, while Nash claims that it was requested she assist as part of her job duties.

Attack

Court testimony from Nash and Herold tell that Nash arrived at the Herold residence shortly after 3pm on February 16, 2009. She arrived in a new vehicle and sporting a new haircut, according to testimony from Herold's defence team. At the time of Nash's arrival, Travis was already roaming free in the front yard. According to accounts from Herold, when Nash held out a Elmo stuffed toy and shook it in Travis' direction, he attacked. The emergency crew described Nash's injuries as "horrendous". Within the following 72 hours, Nash underwent more than seven hours of surgery on her face and hands by four teams of surgeons. The hospital provided counseling to its staff members who initially treated her because of the extraordinary nature of Nash's wounds. Paramedics noted she lost her hands, nose, eyes, lips, and mid-face bone structure, and received significant brain tissue injuries. Doctors successfully reattached her jaw, but announced on April 7, 2009 that Nash would be blind for life. Her injuries made her a possible candidate for an experimental face transplant surgery. After initial treatment at Stamford Hospital, Nash was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Her family started a trust fund to raise money to pay her "unfathomable" medical bills and support her daughter. Nash revealed her damaged face in public for the first time on The Oprah Winfrey Show on November 11, 2009. She was not at that time in physical pain from the attack, and family members said she hoped to leave the Cleveland Clinic soon. Pictures have surfaced on the Internet displaying Nash's face before and after the attack.

Transplants

In June 2011, Nash underwent transplant surgery performed by a team led by Dr. Bohdan Pomahač at the Harvard teaching affiliate, Brigham and Women's Hospital, receiving a donated face and hands. The face transplant was successful, but because Nash developed pneumonia shortly thereafter, doctors were forced to remove her newly transplanted hands due to the infection and resulting poor circulation.

Medical advances

In 2015, Nash began participation in a military funded research project that will attempt to wean her off of the anti-rejection drugs she has depended on since her transplant. Nash says she feels good about contributing to the research and that this is an opportunity to 'do something good out of all of this bad.'

Legal battles

Nash v. Herold

In March 2009, an attorney for Charla Nash's family filed a $50 million lawsuit against Sandra Herold. On May 6, a Stamford judge froze Herold's assets, valued at $10 million. Other potential defendants include the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, the city of Stamford, and the veterinarian who prescribed the Xanax. The defense claimed the chimp had no violent behavior before the attack, and the two accusations in the 1990s attacks were untrue because the chimp had no teeth at the time.

On May 25, 2010, 15 months after the attack, the Associated Press reported that Sandra Herold had died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm at the age of 72. Her attorney, Robert Golger, released the following statement: "Ms. Herold had suffered a series of heartbreaking losses over the last several years, beginning with the death of her daughter who was killed in a car accident, then her husband, then her beloved chimp Travis, as well as the tragic maiming of friend and employee Charla Nash. In the end, her heart, which had been broken so many times before, could take no more."

In November 2012, Nash reached a settlement with Herold's estate and received approximately $4 million.

Nash v. State of Connecticut

Nash attempted to sue the state of Connecticut in 2013 but was denied permission. She had asserted that officials knew the animal was dangerous but did nothing about it. Nash's petition to sue was denied on the basis that at the time of her attack, no statute existed that prohibited the private ownership of a chimpanzee. In July 2013, Nash's attorneys began efforts to appeal the court's decision.

See also

• Travis (chimpanzee)

External links

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📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• People Who Were Killed in Animal Attacks
• Subramania Bharati

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