Charlotte Ponce, girl mauled by raccoon, recovering from plastic surgury PHOTOS

After Charlotte Ponce was mauled by her family’s pet raccoon 10 years ago, the brave girl is finally receiving the treatment that she deserves.

Rabid racoon attack from “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”/New Line Cinema

The 10-year-old Michigan girl is recovering after the August 15 procedure that involved removing tissue from her forearm in order to construct a new lining for her disfigured nose, according to a hospital release.

“I’m OK and I have a nose,” Charlotte said in regard to the eight-hour surgery she underwent a week ago, according to the Tribune.

The 10-year-old girl returned to her Spring Lake home Friday with a new nose and found a new pink bedroom waiting for her, thanks to work and donations from family, friends and strangers.

Her brother Luke played a new song he wrote in her honor, and brother Aaron gave her a Kindle, which will be useful for reading and entertainment while Charlotte avoids sunlight post-surgery.

“I like it,” Charlotte said shyly as she explored the room.

“She’s kind of overwhelmed,” said her mother, Sharon Ponce.

But she said the attention Charlotte has received has boosted her spirits as she faces a series of operations to reconstruct her nose, ear and lip.

“It’s been good for her soul,” Sharon said. “She realizes she’s not alone.
People care about her, and she’s worth people caring about.”

Charlotte is now undergoing extensive reconstructive surgery at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.  First her nose, then her lip and ear will follow.  It’s not easy, but the Ponces believe this is the right thing to do.

“She just wanted to be like everybody else,” Sharon Ponce explained.  “She tells me it doesn’t bother her, but I know it does.”

Charlotte will return to Beaumont in six to eight weeks for the next step in this process of building a new nose.

Charlotte Ponce post surgery photo supply by Beaumont Hospital