Charla Nash was a kind, quiet woman who simply wanted to help a friend. But a single moment in 2009 changed her life forever—and shocked the nation.

Charla rushed to her friend Sandra Herold’s home in Stamford, Connecticut, after Sandra’s pet chimpanzee, Travis, escaped with her car keys. Charla had known Travis for years. But this time, something was different. As she approached holding one of his favorite toys—an Elmo doll—Travis suddenly snapped.

In a savage attack, the 200-pound chimp ripped off Charla’s hands, nose, eyelids, and lips. Sandra tried to stop him with a shovel and a knife. In horror, she told the 911 dispatcher, “He’s eating her.” When police arrived, Travis attacked their cruiser. An officer shot him, and Travis retreated into the house, where he died.

Charla was barely alive. Doctors put her in a coma and performed hours of emergency surgery. She lost most of her face and both eyes. Her injuries were so extreme that the hospital staff needed counseling.

But Charla wasn’t done fighting.

She later received a groundbreaking full-face transplant in 2011. Her courage stunned the world. Rather than hiding, Charla went public—to raise awareness about the dangers of owning exotic animals. “They’re not pets,” she said. “They’re wild.”

Charla sued the state of Connecticut, claiming it ignored warnings about Travis’s behavior, but her case was denied. She did receive a settlement from Sandra’s estate—Sandra died 15 months after the attack.

Her story led to renewed efforts to pass laws banning primates as pets. Even the officer who shot Travis struggled with the emotional aftermath, leading to a bill aimed at supporting police mental health after such traumatic events.

Charla Nash’s strength in the face of unimaginable trauma continues to inspire. She turned tragedy into advocacy—and helped change the law so that others might be spared the pain she endured.