Texas woman's nose bitten off and swallowed by neighbor; denied surgery because she's uninsured

[babylonsister]

Texas woman's nose bitten off and swallowed by neighbor; denied surgery because she's uninsured
Jessica Sutherland
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday July 17, 2018 · 7:03 PM EDT


“All I could remember was the taste of the blood in my mouth,” says the 28-year-old victim of a bizarre attack in her own backyard last Thursday. The woman, who told WAFB she wishes to be identified only as Tatiana, was in her Houston backyard on July 12 when a neighbor’s houseguest, Jessica Collins, allegedly attacked her.

Tatiana says she went to a bar with her neighbor, and when the two returned, Collins demanded alcohol and cigarettes.

The victim refused and told Collins to leave. She says the suspect instead jumped on her and pulled her to the ground by her hair. She then allegedly bit off a large piece of Tatiana’s nose and swallowed it.

"I didn't have no time to react, to push her away. I think I was trying to fight back, but I couldn't.”

Forty-one-year-old Collins, whom Tatiana had never met before that night, was arrested Friday morning on charges of misdemeanor assault-bodily injury, and released Monday on a paltry $1,000 bond.

Tatiana, meanwhile, is deeply traumatized by both the incident, and the fact that Collins—who knows where she lives—walks free. The mother of one told ABC13 that she doesn’t even want to leave her own bedroom, because “it’s where I feel safe.”

She can’t just stay in her bedroom, though. She needs major surgery, and she needs it very soon, according to doctors who refuse to do a damn thing—unless Tatiana comes up with $12,000 upfront.

”I’m 28 years old, and I don’t have a nose anymore. I don’t know what to do,” she told WAFB through tears.

A friend has launched a fundraising effort on Tatiana’s behalf; as of this writing, over 200 people have donated over $5,300. (If you click through, be warned: Tatiana’s missing nose is quite a graphic image.)

This is just the latest appalling example of how horrific it can be to be uninsured. It’s a new American tradition to get creative in order to access health care. Whether it’s filing for divorce, robbing a bank, or crowdfunding, pulling out all the stops has become the new normal for too many Americans, and Trump is eager to make things even worse.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/7/17/1781428/-TX-woman-s-nose-bitten-off-and-swallowed-by-neighbor-can-t-get-surgery-because-she-s-uninsured

Thanks in no small part to a single $7000 donation, Tatiana’s GoFundMe has now exceeded its $12,000 goal. As of this update, over $17,500 has been raised.

Knowing that some of you that contributed, I thought you’d like to know!

[cbreezen]

1. I'm seeing a photograph of a woman who clearly still has her olfactory

system attached to her face.

Did you mean to link to another article because I wouldn't give the woman pictured a dime without more info.

[babylonsister]

2. There's a link in this

paragraph that shows the damage.

A friend has launched a fundraising effort on Tatiana’s behalf; as of this writing, over 200 people have donated over $5,300. (If you click through, be warned: Tatiana’s missing nose is quite a graphic image.)

[PassingFair]

3. Up over $18,000 now

Hope she works with a skilled surgeon.

[eShirl]

4. That's the mugshot of the attacker.

[Iggo]

5. Thank god we got to the bottom of that shit!