The story of the first face transplant recipient has inspired millions.
Joe DiMeo, the world’s first face and hand transplant survivor, recently found love with Jessica, a nurse after his tragic accident and life of ups and downs. Their love story has gone viral on social media and inspired millions.
The world’s first man to receive a face transplant
Joe DiMeo’s life took a turn when he was 18. He was driving home at 7 a.m. after a night shift at a food testing lab. He didn’t mind working late because he wanted to earn extra money to fix his Dodge Challenger. He admitted that he didn’t care about sleep at the time, sleeping only four or five hours a night. He was just 10 minutes from his apartment when the accident happened. “I fell asleep at the wheel, the car hit the curb, hit the sidewalk and caught fire,” Joe recalled.
Joe at the time of the tragic accident
He was in a coma for three and a half months and woke up in the hospital. He then left the hospital to spend a few months at a burn rehabilitation center, then returned to his parents’ house.
“I was basically a 20-year-old kid again, which was not cool. My mom was doing the washing, cooking, cleaning, and I was just lying on the sofa with my dog,” Joe said. “That wasn’t me.”
The face transplant, while risky, was Joe’s only chance to regain control over his life. In 2019, he met with Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez (NYU Langone), who evaluated Joe as a candidate for the groundbreaking surgery. Prior to the surgery, he underwent about six months of testing led by Dr. Rodriguez and his team. But when COVID-19 hit, the transplant was postponed until August 2020. According to a hospital press release, more than 140 medical staff were involved in the 23-hour surgery. As Jessica later shared on TikTok, Joe received both the face and hands of a 47-year-old donor.
Joe before the accident and after the face transplant
Joe began his recovery process with nearly 14 weeks at NYU Langone under the care of doctors. Those days, he told People , were filled with pain, therapy, and exercises. He also had to relearn basic motor skills, like walking and jumping.
Joe’s historic surgery made him a celebrity, and he began sharing his life online. He regularly posts videos of his progress and answers questions from viewers. Joe has more than 240,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram, but the love he’s received from social media is the most precious gift he’s received.
Fairy tale love story
Joe first connected with Jessica nearly four years ago, when he sent her a message on Instagram about her Boston Terrier. She had recently watched a documentary about his surgery, and at the time, Jessica was also working with transplant patients as a nurse.
Looking back, it was Joe DiMeo’s (26) confidence that attracted Jessica (34) from the very beginning. Jessica shared that confidence radiated from the way he walked, the way he dressed, and his engaging communication skills, despite his very distinctive appearance. It’s still one of the things she loves most about Joe, and she believes he’s always been that way, even before they started dating in April 2021 and got married last December.
“I didn’t know him before, but I could tell he was a very confident teenager and young man,” Jessica told People , sitting next to Joe at their home in New Jersey. “He’s a very confident man now.”
For the first six months, it was a long-distance relationship: Jessica lived in Cleveland and Joe lived in New Jersey, but they stayed in touch. They talked on the phone frequently, and Jessica drove across states to visit Joe. As she shared on her TikTok account, Joe flew to help Jessica move the day he was discharged from the hospital.
Eventually, they decided to stay together and moved into a house together in New Jersey. Their life was pretty much like any other couple their age: Jessica worked in New York City from 12pm to 8pm as a nurse, and Joe—”a really good cook,” according to his wife—often cooked dinner for the two of them when she got home late at night.
