Almost 4 months after she was mauled by a family member's dog, Alessia Sansotta of Hicksville, New York, is back in fighting form, thanks to a surgeon who helped treat her. Alessia celebrated her second birthday in style last week with the help of Dr. Rachel Ruotolo, who has become a hero to both the girl and her family.
The incident happened back in March when a family member was babysitting Alessia.
Her mom, Diane Sansotta-Ingrasselino, received a frantic phone call from the relative March 6 that Alessia was attacked by the family member's pit bull, according to WLNY.
"The attack left bones, tendons, and skull exposed and fractured," a July 12 post on the Long Island Plastic Surgical Group Facebook page described.
At one point, things looked bleak.
"After nearly two weeks of declining health issues, Alessia had still not received reconstructive surgery and was transported to her third and final hospital stay at Cohen Children's Medical Center," the Facebook page explained. "[M]other Dianna was told to prepare to say her final goodbyes to her daughter."
That's when Alessia's aunt, Angela Sansotta, made a desperate plea for help to the surgeon.
She tagged the pediatrict plastic surgeon in a post on Instagram and on a GoFundMe page she created to raise money for Alessia's treatment.
"Dr. Rachel saw it, they became friends, my sister spoke to her, it was like a godsend," the aunt recalled to ABC 7.
Ruotolo specializes in craniofacial surgery and had her work cut out for her.
"Her nose was almost completely off" and bones in her face were broken, Ruotolo recalled to WLNY.
There was something about Alessia's story that touched the pediatric surgeon.
"There are some kids, it's heart-wrenching, that I can't help," Ruotolo explained. "This is right here in my backyard and my specialty. It's all I do. Not even a question."
Along with the surgical team at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Ruotolo helped perform a five-hour surgery on the then 20-month-old the very next day, the medical center's Facebook page stated.
ABC 7 reported that the team even used part of Alessia's rib to reconstruct part of her eye socket that went missing.
"I sang to her every day," her mom told WLNY. "She really is a miracle. She's my world."
Four months later, not only is Alessia on the mend, but Ruotolo joined her July 12 to celebrate her birthday.
The girl had recovered enough for her mom to throw her a birthday party — face masks included — where Alessia reunited with her favorite doctor.
"She’s running around having fun today and you'd never know this horrific thing happened so recently," Ruotolo remarked to the news station. "[Kids] are so unbelievably resilient and brave. She's not even afraid of the type of animal that caused this."
"She's not afraid of dogs. She's not afraid of anything," Alessia's mom agreed.
Alessia will continue to need surgeries as she grows.
"We use resorbable plates and screws, so it has great strength. They are around for two years, but they will dissolve," Ruotolo explained. "She has a lot of bone missing on her upper jaw, which we will have to replace so she'll have teeth one day."
Ruotolo told ABC 7 that she's not going anywhere.
"I'm not just these kids' surgeon," she said. "I become part of their life, and there is a huge emotional part of what I do with the parents."
The family is grateful that the doctor is so devoted to Alessia's journey.
"I go, 'You're not retiring anytime soon, are you? I need you for a long time,'" Sansotta-Ingrasselino said. "She's forever in our life. Anybody that looks at Alessia for the rest of her life is looking at what she's done, so forever I am grateful to her."
