Joe DiMeo was 18 when his body was burned beyond recognition in a high-speed crash that nearly took his life.
The teenager fell asleep behind the wheel after clocking out of a night shift, slammed into a curb, flipped the vehicle, and was engulfed in flames. By the time first responders pulled him out, 80 percent of his body had been scorched.
Twenty surgeries and years of therapy later, DiMeo became the first person in the world to receive a face and double hand transplant—all from a 47-year-old donor.
Now, he broke his silence to reveal a haunting fact about his recovery—even in a coma, a part of his brain remained awake, and the things he felt and heard still haunt him to this day.
Man who got unprecedented face transplant said he was able to feel pain while in a coma
Image credits: People
In a recent video interview, DiMeo recalled how he went from falling asleep behind the wheel to being in limbo, with his brain half-awake during the three months he spent in a coma.
Image credits: People
He was able to hear and feel, being somewhat aware of what was happening to him while still feeling the excruciating pain of doctors trying to heal him—an experience he likens to a never ending nightmare.
Image credits: People
“When they take you into the tank room—where they wash you off, take off all the bandages—that’s not fun,” he said.
“You can feel the pain. So even though you’re in a coma, you’re still dreaming about pain.”
Image credits: People
Submerged in that space, only one image stayed with him—a memory so tender and sweet that it made him think he had finally reached Heaven.
“The only thing I experienced was me walking my dog. He passed away in 2012, 2013,” DiMeo recalled.
“I was like, ‘Oh, this is it. I’m assuming this is the afterlife, just me walking my dog down an endless hill.’”
DiMeo signed for the transplant in hopes of regaining some level of independence
Image credits: People/80percentgone
The crash happened in the early morning if July 14, 2018. DiMeo, exhausted from working overnight, nodded off at the wheel. When he woke up months later in a burn unit, his former life was gone. He couldn't feed himself. He couldn’t blink. He could barely move.
Image credits: Inside Edition
Doctors tried to heal him to the best of their ability, but even they knew there were limits to what medicine could offer. His face, practically melted off, couldn’t be reconstructed using conventional plastic surgery.
Image credits: NYU Langone Health
“I felt like a 20-year-old baby again,” DiMeo explained. “My mom did my laundry, cooked, cleaned, all that stuff, and I just laid on the couch with my dog. That just wasn’t for me.”
Image credits: Inside Edition
Desperate to regain a level of independence, DiMeo sought the help of Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez at NYU Langone Health, one of the few surgeons in the world capable of performing face transplants.
Image credits: Dimeo Joe/Facebook
The Doctor believed DiMeo to be the ideal candidate for a groundbreaking combined procedure of face and hand transplantation—a procedure that had never worked before.
“The first one passed away on the table, and the second one the hands failed,” DiMeo said. “But going into any surgery, you can die. That didn’t bother me.”
DiMeo's new face brought not only autonomy back into his life, but also love
Image credits: People
In August 2020, more than 140 medical personnel worked across nearly 24 hours to complete the transplant. His new face and hands came from a 47-year-old male donor. And for the first time in two years, Joe DiMeo saw the beginning of a new life.
Image credits: 80percentgone
“It’s not a perfect surgery, and I was making it a perfect surgery in the beginning,” he shared. “But then I realized, you know what, let me be real.”
DiMeo’s new face would not only go on to give him back a semblance of normalcy—it would also lead him to the woman who would eventually become his wife.
Image credits: People
Jessica DiMei, a nursing student at the time, first learned about Joe through a professor. Being a person acutely sympathetic to others’ pain, she decided to watch his documentary.
“I remember looking at the picture of him, before and after, and thinking, ‘Dang, that sucks. He was a handsome guy.’ But that’s all I thought,” she said.
Image credits: 80percentgone
In 2021, the pair started talking on Instagram. Finding friendship and companionship in each other, they moved in together in New Jersey. In December 2024, they eloped in Hawaii.
Reflecting on his struggle, Joe doesn’t shy away from the brutal truth of what he’s endured, but he also doesn’t dwell on bitterness.
“It sucks I got into the accident. I lost 80 percent of my skin, and I have someone else's face and hands on me,” he said.
“But then I also found my life partner… I would prefer not to be burned, but I like my life now, just because I have Jessica around.”
"Inspiring." Netizens took to social media to wish the couple the best
