An aerospace engineer has spoken of the moment his “whole life crumbled” after his pet dog bit his nose off while he was having an epileptic seizure at home.
Warning: This story contains very graphic images
Ben Horne, 34, was going through a medication change when he started having seizures in his sleep in 2019.
It was during one of these seizures that his 10-year-old dog Henry, who was distressed by what was happening, chewed off his nose, his bottom lip and part of his chin.
Mr Horne, from Yeovil in Somerset, had owned the dog since it was a puppy and had said it was his best friend.
Speaking to Sky News presenter Sarah-Jane Mee on her show The UK Tonight, Mr Horne has described the moment he regained consciousness to find his face covered in blood.
He said: “When you come round from a seizure you’re very confused and disorientated… you don’t know what your name is or where you are or anything like that.
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“After a while, I sort of began to come to, and obviously noticed there was a lot of blood. I did a few laps of the house and there was blood all around the house.
“I vaguely remember looking in the mirror and it not being a very nice sight. I called an ambulance and it was then I realised I couldn’t really talk, which I knew again was not a good sign.”
Paramedics arrived at his home before he was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Somerset, for 10 hours of emergency surgery.
Mr Horne said: “A nurse handed me a mirror [after the surgery] and said ‘it’s going to be a big shock’.
“It definitely was. I obviously knew the damage was bad, I didn’t realise it was that bad.
“And yeah, your whole life crumbles really. You’re not sure what you’re going to do or what’s going to happen.
“It was a tough time.”
Mr Horne has had around 10 surgeries by specialists who have been working to reconstruct his face.
Tattooed skin from his forearm was used for the first layer of his new nose – with photographs showing the inked flesh stitched to his face.
Skin was then taken from his forehead to create the outer layer of his nose that is visible today.
Bone from his ribs was also used for his nose, while fat was taken from his stomach to help reconstruct part of his chin.
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Mr Horne says it is difficult to look back at photographs of himself before his injuries because it can make him wish “things were how they used to be”.
Mr Horne continued: “But as time goes on, I’m just learning to make peace with what happened.
“Any disfigurement is so difficult, particularly a facial one… I still have those days where it’s difficult to go out, being around a lot of people is difficult.”
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Mr Horne currently has tubes coming out of his nose, with surgeons set to work out how they can remove those while keeping the structure intact.
The aerospace engineer is now raising money for the plastic surgery team at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital that has helped him through his ordeal.
He has completed two Tough Mudder endurance events and will complete his second 50km (31 miles) race on Saturday.
His dog Henry was assessed by the police after the incident in 2019 and was rehoused with a retired couple after it was deemed he was safe to have new owners.
