JEN KORDIAK: It was a split-second freak accident you can never expect to happen.
DENNIS DOUDA: Seven-year-old Amber-Rose had no problem staying entertained on the family farm. But one July day in 2013, with her father working just a few steps away, her playtime turned tragic when she toppled this 600-pound tractor tire and rim on top of herself.
JEN KORDIAK: I heard a blood-curling scream come out of my husband from the house. And just-- you act. And I ran out there. And he had pulled the tire off her. And he thought she was dead. Like, you couldn't recognize her face. It was cut in half.
ULDIS BITE: The bones around her eye socket and the upper and lower jaws and nose were really shattered. And that's why it was difficult to do any reconstruction.
DENNIS DOUDA: Cranial, facial, and pediatric plastic surgeon Uldis Bite says other surgeons did what they could at the time. Now, he's helping to take her recovery much farther.
ULDIS BITE: She's a wonderful child. She's-- if you've met her, you know that she'll win your heart immediately from the first minute.
DENNIS DOUDA: After three years of visits to various doctors and hospitals, Amber Rose's family says at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center, they have found an approach that's giving them new hope, the hope that Amber-Rose can be seen for who she is, not for what happened to her.
AMBER-ROSE KORDIAK: Because everybody stares at me.
JEN KORDIAK: What worked for Mayo is because all the specialists are here. It saved her a lot more surgeries. And she's already been through 12.
ELIZABETH BRADLEY: Hi.
JEN KORDIAK: Good to see you.
ELIZABETH BRADLEY: How are you? Hi, Amber Rose. How are you doing?
DENNIS DOUDA: Helping to achieve several repairs in a single operation. Oculoplastic and orbital surgeon Elizabeth Bradley's role on the diverse medical team will be reconstructing Amber Rose's damaged eye socket.
ELIZABETH BRADLEY: We don't want to do anything that would increase the risk of damaging the optic nerve.
DENNIS DOUDA: Other surgical specialists will restore Amber-Rose's sinuses to normal, improve the flexibility and alignment of her jaws, her ability to smile, and nerve function in her face.
Dr. Bite is taking the first steps to rebuild her nose. He's also realigning her eyes for a more balanced appearance.
ULDIS BITE: From the CT scan, we can have a 3D-printed model made of her skull. And from that, we can have a custom-designed implant made that would restore the shape of the right eye socket to a mirror image of the left eye socket. So basically, to as normal as possible.
DENNIS DOUDA: Because Amber-Rose is still growing, not all of the repairs can be made this day.
JEN KORDIAK: But I feel like she got through a 15-hour surgery on several parts of her face. And she's doing great. We can get through the rest of this.
DENNIS DOUDA: For the Mayo Clinic News Network, I'm Dennis Douda.
