Woman Meets the Man Who Wears Her Brother's Face

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1/18 Rebekah Aversano touches the face of Richard Norris who lost his face in a shotgun accident. Rebekah's brother donated his face to Richard.
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2/18 Joshua Aversano was killed when hit by a van in 2010.
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3/18 Joshua's family donated his face for transplant to shooting victim Richard Norris. This is him after the transplant.
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4/18 Rebekah Aversano looks on in amazement after meeting Richard Norris for the first time. 'This is the face I grew up with' she tells him.
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5/18 When Rebekah and her family were first approached by doctors about the possibility of using her dead brother's face for transplant, they were shocked.
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6/18 Rebekah asks Richard: 'Do you mind if I touch it?'
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8/18 This was Richard before the accident.
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9/18 When he shot himself he lost his nose, lips and most movement in his mouth. The surgery took more than 36 hours.
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11/18 Joshua's family was approached soon after his death with a request to donate his face for transplanting onto Richard Norris. They had already donated his organs.
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12/18 Richard Norris sits in the office of Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the surgical team that performed the face transplant. He undergoes regular checks because of the fear of his body rejecting the new face.
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14/18 When Norris saw his new face in a mirror for the first time, he wrote: 'The only thing I could do was hug Dr. Rodriguez'.
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16/18 60 Minutes reporter Allison Langdon speaking with Richard Norris who was given a new lease on life following a face transplant. Source: Channel 9
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17/18 Richard Norris on the front of GQ magazine two years after the operation. CREDIT: Dan Winters/GQ
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18/18 Richard Norris with girlfriend Melanie Solis. Source: Facebook
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In a beautiful and remarkable story, which will air on 60 Minutes, the show brings together the pair for the first time since Richard underwent groundbreaking surgery and received a new face.

Rebekah’s brother Josh died after being hit by a van in Baltimore three years ago.

Their brave family agreed to not only donate his organs but agreed to give his face to a man who had lived the past 15 years of his life as a recluse.

That man was Richard.

Despite sharing an unbelievable bond the pair had never met.

“It was such as surreal moment,” Ms Langdon explained. “They were both so anxious beforehand.

“When Rebekah walked in they just gave each other a hug. Then she just stepped back and looked at him in wonder. There was this moment that she said ‘can I touch you, can I touch you?’ And as she is touching his lips she says ‘they’re my brother’s lips.

“I had shivers down my spine when Rebekah touched his face, when she was touching his lips and eyebrow and was saying ‘I can see my brother, I know he’s not here but he lives on through you’. It was a pretty emotional moment for all of us I think.”

Richard was just 22 when he accidentally blew off half his face with a shot gun.

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