Robb and Alesia Stubblefield have been by her side – helping her “take four steps forward, two steps back,” as Robb describes it – since Katie, then 18, endured severe facial trauma and significant complications from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 25, 2014., Man, 26, Who Received Face of 47-Year-Old Donor, Reveals What He Heard During His 3-Month Coma (Exclusive) In PEOPLE's new 'I Survived' series, Joe DiMeo reflected on the medical journey that led , In the 19 years since the first face transplant was performed, more than 50 have been done around the world. Survival outcomes for these transplants are encouraging, according to a recent JAMA Surgery study., A face transplant is a medical procedure to replace all or part of a person's face with donor tissue, restoring function and appearance after a severe injury or illness., A face transplant is a complex procedure and involves: a rigorous screening process, detailed surgical preparation,16 hours or more of surgery, nerve regeneration, physical therapy and immunosuppressive medications taken for the rest of the patient’s life., .