Brooklinn lost her upper lip in a dog attack. 2 years on, she's shared her transformation.

It was November 2020 and pro skater Brooklinn Khoury, a rising model and influencer from California, was visiting her cousins in Arizona.

After popping into a local grocery store, Khoury returned to her cousin's place to have lunch. A few minutes later, her life changed forever.

While she was standing in the kitchen, the 23-year-old remembers reaching out to pat her cousin's dog - an eight-year-old pit bull she'd known since it was a puppy.

"I was like, 'You're such a good boy', she shared in an interview with PEOPLE. "He literally sprung from a sitting position onto my face." 

"I was standing, and he was sitting... he was literally, hanging — literally like arms, legs hanging off of my lip. And my first instinct was like, 'Oh my God, get on the ground with him, hold his head, go wherever he goes.'"

Grabbing the dog's head and attempting to push it back, she said, "Finally, I felt a release. And then, something flew and hit the wall."

Standing up, Khoury took a deep breath, sharing with Newsweek, "it felt like somebody had shoved dry ice up my nose".

"Because of the adrenalin, I didn't feel pain at all... When my cousin finally turned around to face me, she was in shock."

"I remember standing over the bathroom sink, watching blood leaking from my mouth. It was when I put my hands on the sink, and finally looked up at myself in the mirror, that I began to really process what had happened to me. I was in disbelief."

Khoury and her cousin drove straight to the emergency room. 

She told Newsweek that after a nine-hour ordeal (a specialist surgeon travelled six hours to operate on her), unfortunately, her upper lip couldn't be saved.

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A post shared by Brooklinn Khoury (@brookhoury)

Khoury was left with no upper lip. Surgeons revealed she would require at least five reconstructive surgeries to rebuild her lip and parts of her nose.

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A post shared by Brooklinn Khoury (@brookhoury)

Following the incident, Khoury shared that the blue nose pit bull was put down. "Animal control had no other choice," she shared with Newsweek.

"I have seen pit bulls since my attack and I've not been scared of them; I've just been more aware of what they can do. I still genuinely love dogs, but I'm just more cautious of them in general."

In her article for Newsweek, she wrote, "Posting about my attack online has [sic] received a very controversial reaction. Although I have never spoken badly about pit bulls, I get a lot of hateful comments. I've had many messages on TikTok from people telling me that I deserve to die for sharing my story."

"It's such a mental battle going out in public every day, people sometimes look at me and point, or ask questions. But still, I'm happy to tell my story."

Since the attack, Khoury has shared her recovery journey on Instagram, candidly documenting her numerous surgeries and her changing face.

The series of reconstructive surgeries involved doctors using a skin graft from Khoury's forearm (the skin on your arm has the closest texture to the upper lip) and transplanting the tissue to her face.

She also underwent a rhinoplasty procedure to repair her nose.

Now two years on, the 23-year-old has shared her progress, posting a series of photos on Instagram.

On a recent post, she wrote, "Today I had to remind myself how far I've come since the attack. Looking back at photos and videos makes me feel a way I cannot put into words. But what it does is it shifts my perspective on how precious life is, and also time."

"Timing is so unpredictable, but it's also so divine. I would have never imagined something like this to happen, but I have learned so much about life, and finding happiness through this whole journey. Whatever you are going through it will get better, and it will happen the way it needs to."

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A post shared by Brooklinn Khoury (@brookhoury)

Khoury recently filmed her trip to Sephora, where she asked a makeup artist to draw an upper lip on her face. 

The skateboarder, who has over 300k Instagram followers, received a slew of comments congratulating her on her progress, with some fans questioning if cosmetic tattooing would be the next step.

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A post shared by Brooklinn Khoury (@brookhoury)

Khoury has also been open about the impact the incident had on her personal life.

She is currently in a relationship with former Dance Moms star Chloé Lukasiak - the pair met just one week before Khoury's attack. "I just fell so hard," Khoury told PEOPLE. 

She recalls worrying about their relationship while she was in the hospital, sharing, "I was like, "What if she doesn't think I'm pretty anymore?'"

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A post shared by Brooklinn Khoury (@brookhoury)

In an Instagram post on the one-year anniversary of the incident, Khoury shared, "@chloelukasiak took the time to put together something so special for me on the day that hurt me the most." 

"I can’t even begin to describe what this meant to me, and how much you mean to me. There are no words to describe Y O U. Happy smile day."

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A post shared by Brooklinn Khoury (@brookhoury)

They officially confirmed their relationship in December, with Khoury sharing, "November was our one year. This year because of you has been, by far, the greatest year of my life." 

"@chloelukasiak I will always love the way you get excited about the smell of Barnes and Noble, or the way you scream when you get excited about a movie, or how you always have fresh cookies on the stove, and you not being able to resist cold stone."

"You have taught me patience, you have shown me so so so much love, kindness, and compassion, and so much more. I will forever treasure the love we have for each other. I love you."

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A post shared by Brooklinn Khoury (@brookhoury)

Feature image: Instagram; @brookekhoury

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