Ep. 124 | Carmen Tarleton: A Story of Resilience
In June 2007, Vermont nurse Carmen Tarleton was beaten with a baseball bat and doused with industrial-strength lye by her estranged husband, Herb Rodgers, leaving her blind in one eye and burned over 80 percent of her body. Carmen endured dozens of reconstructive surgeries before becoming a candidate for a face transplant, which she received in 2013 — and again in 2020, becoming the first person in the U.S. to undergo the procedure twice after her original transplant began to fail. Despite the devastation of the attack, Carmen has become a public speaker on forgiveness and resilience, crediting her survival and recovery to her choice to move forward without hatred for the man who nearly killed her.
Sources
Associated Press. (2007, September 30). Gruesome lye attack leaves woman struggling to survive. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-30-adna-scarred30-story.html
Associated Press. (2012, December 6). Victim's book calls brutal, disfiguring attack a 'blessing.' Portland Press Herald. https://www.pressherald.com/2012/12/06/victims-book-calls-lye-attack-a-blessing_2012-12-07/
Associated Press. (2013, February 27). Woman attacked with lye gets face transplant. WPVI-TV News. https://6abc.com/archive/8979882/
Associated Press. (2013, May 1). Face transplant recipient "in a better place" six years after chemical attack. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/01/face-transplant-boston-woman
Associated Press. (2017, December 18). Vermont man who doused wife in lye, resulting in face transplant, dies. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/herbert-rodgers-dead-estranged-wife-carmen-tarleton-face-transplant/
Associated Press. (2019, September 23). NH woman who received face transplant after domestic violence attack now needs a new donor. Bangor Daily News. https://www.bangordailynews.com/2019/09/23/news/nh-woman-who-received-face-transplant-after-domestic-violence-attack-now-needs-a-new-donor/
Blandin Tarleton, C. (2013). Overcome: Burned, blinded, and blessed. Writers of the Round Table Press. https://www.amazon.com/Overcome-Burned-Blinded-Blessed-Tarleton/dp/0988493800
Brigham and Women's Hospital. (2013, February 27). Carmen Blandin Tarleton — face transplant fact sheet. https://www.brighamandwomens.org/assets/BWH/about-bwh/newsroom/pdfs/carmen-fact-sheet.pdf
Brigham and Women's Hospital. (2013). Carmen Blandin Tarleton: Face transplant (patient profile). https://www.brighamandwomens.org/surgery/plastic-surgery/face-transplant/carmen-blandin-tarleton
Brigham and Women's Hospital. (2021, February 23). Rejecting fear, embracing life: After second face transplant, patient welcomes "new life, new adventures." Brigham Bulletin. https://bwhbulletin.org/2021/02/23/rejecting-fear-embracing-life-after-second-face-transplant-brigham-patient-welcomes-new-life-new-adventures/
EverybodyWiki. (2024, December 15). Carmen Blandin Tarleton. https://en.everybodywiki.com/Carmen_Blandin_Tarleton
Portland Press Herald. (2012, December 7). Victim's book calls brutal, disfiguring attack a "blessing." https://www.pressherald.com/2012/12/07/victims-book-calls-brutal-disfiguring-attack-a-blessing/
Rathke, L. (2012, December 3). Lye attack victim writes of forgiveness. Burlington Free Press (reprinted in Congressional Record). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2012-12-18/html/CREC-2012-12-18-pt1-PgE1942.htm
Rodriguez, J. (2012, December 4). Lye victim reveals forgiveness and blessings following horrifying 2-day attack. The Christian Post. https://www.christianpost.com/news/lye-victim-reveals-forgiveness-and-blessings-following-horrifying-2-day-attack.html
