Lily Norton, a 6-year-old girl from Maine, US had surgery after she was attacked by a pit bull in her friend’s home.
Lisa needed 1,000 stitches after getting attacked by the dog on February 18 causing such profound injuries that she’ll never be able to smile again, her doctors said.
The Sun Journal reported that the stitches were needed to close wounds extending from under her eyes to the top of her throat, and was flown to Boston for emergency surgery that lasted 11 hours.
“Her salivary glands aren’t working … and doctors said she won’t be able to smile again,” Family friend CJ Pitcher told the outlet. “Muscles are too damaged.”
Lily will be sedated for at least a week to prevent her from scratching at her face, according to Pitcher. The little girl’s mom, Dorothy Norton, told News Center Maine while Lily is sedated, she’ll need a breathing tube.
“She’s still sedated because she has a breathing tube in,” her mother said. “But other than that, she’s really good. She looks really good.”
When the attack occurred, Lily was at a friend’s house for a playdate, and the friend’s mom was reportedly dog-sitting the pit bull.
“They were going to play cards at the table, so she sat down at the table, the friend went and got the cards, and then as soon as the friend walked back in the room, she screamed to her mom because the dog had Lily in her mouth,” Norton said.
The friend’s mom rushed Lily to a nearby hospital and the little girl was then flown by a medical helicopter to Boston Children’s Hospital.
“She’s so energetic. She loves to be outside, loves it. And she doesn’t hate all dogs, at least that’s what she told me. She just doesn’t want to see that one again,” Norton said.