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Face transplant man marries burns victim

Dallas Wiens became the first person in the U.S. to receive a full face transplant

Dallas News

FORT WORTH, Texas — At the same Fort Worth church where a near-fatal electrical accident melted away his face and claimed his eyesight, Dallas Wiens transformed pain into bliss Saturday as he exchanged vows with Jamie Nash of Garland.

“I am blessed beyond measure that you have chosen me, and I love you with all of my heart,” Wiens told Nash as they clasped hands in front of more than 150 people at Ridglea Baptist Church. Separate tragic journeys brought the couple together at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where they met in a support group for burn victims in 2011.

Wiens’ head touched a high-voltage power line while he made repairs to a church window in November 2008. The Fort Worth native spent months in Parkland, where doctors crafted a smooth, featureless surface that later qualified Wiens for the nation’s first full-face transplant in Boston. Nash was burned over 70 percent of her body in a one-car wreck in June 2010. Today she speaks at schools and churches about the perils of texting while driving.

Full story: Recipient of nation’s first full-face transplant marries fellow burn victim in Fort Worth