In November 2020, Brooklinn Khoury’s life changed forever after she was attacked by a pit bull. Despite the traumatic event, she remained resilient and continued to embrace life with courage. As an influencer with over 500,000 Instagram followers, Khoury has documented her recovery journey, inspiring many with her unwavering spirit. Through her vlogs and social media posts, she encourages others to stay hopeful and pursue their dreams, no matter the obstacles.

Khoury was in the kitchen, petting her cousin’s 8-year-old blue-nosed pit bull, Diesel, a dog she had met before and thought was well-behaved, when it suddenly attacked her. She remained calm and went straight to the hospital, but despite their efforts, the surgeons were unable to repair the damage to her upper lip.

She recalled pulling out her phone to check her appearance, not realizing it had taken a photo until later. “I knew it was bad, but I didn’t realize how bad it was,” she said. “It’s crazy because this photo has been incredibly helpful for my doctor, allowing him to see the original bite marks and understand exactly what happened.”

She has been very open and transparent about her recovery journey, sharing her experiences, thoughts, and feelings with the public on Instagram. In one post, she wrote, “When I was attacked, it was so hard to see what the future held for me.” She explained how thankful she was for people who constantly reminded her to trust the process.

“The first time seeing my face after the surgery was scary,” she said, “But I was like, ’Okay, time to love this new version of myself for now.’”

Since she survived a pitbull attack, Brooklinn has become the permanent patient of a plastic surgeon, which might seem like quite a challenge, both physically and mentally.

She has no specific expectations for the appearance of her face after her reconstructive surgeries, despite her doctor’s reputation for perfectionism.

“My personal hope, just like any surgery that I do, is just learning to love what I see,” she says. “Before, I just focused on such little things that didn’t even matter. Like for instance, I had a zit on my upper lip right when the attack happened, and I remember being so insecure about it. And then 15 minutes later, my entire lip was gone.”

On her Instagram, Brooklinn continues sharing the results of her recovery and inspiring many people with her positivity. In one of her posts, she writes, “Almost three weeks post-op! Everything is healing so well. Still pretty swollen but so blessed with the results!”

“I have always been a confident person, and I’ve never really cared about what I look like. I genuinely love myself and the way that I look, but society doesn’t always think the same as me,” she shares, explaining that this is why she’s been so open with sharing her story on social media despite all of the rude stares or critical comments she gets.

“For me personally, there’s no point in being self-conscious, and I think posting on social media definitely has helped heal,” Khoury says. “On social media, I’m very transparent. What you see is how I am in person.”

Here is another inspiring story of a young woman who regained her confidence and new appearance with the help of surgeons.