Jennifer Hiles was about 12 years old when she was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation.
Her family thought it was a birthmark, but it kept growing, and half her face eventually became marked by abnormal connections between arteries and veins that could cause a fatal hemorrhage at any moment. She underwent several unsuccessful surgeries, endured bullying at school, and learned to live with other people’s stares.
Now 39, this mother of two daughters traveled from South Dakota to New York with her husband, Dustin, to try once more. For eight weeks, she wore saline-filled tissue expanders under her forehead and cheek, like breast implants, but in her face. Each week, they were inflated to make new skin grow. On May 18, they were removed along with the malformation, and she has since spent four months under medical supervision, undergoing six minor surgeries.
When she woke up, she asked them to take a photo: her face looked free of the malformation, and she couldn’t believe it was her. Recovery wasn’t easy: some of the skin on her right cheek began to die, and the malformation started to reappear under her nose. Doctors believe it will continue to grow, but they will be able to control it, and Jennifer is no longer at risk of bleeding to death. She still has more surgeries ahead, and her wish is simple: “I don’t want to be perfect, just normal”.