A British newspaper published an exclusive photo of Isabelle Dinoire, recipient of the world’s first face transplant, along with a story in which the 38-year-old French woman describes her life as she recovers from the revolutionary surgery. “Lots has been said about how happy I am, but this has not always been the case,” said Dinoire, whose face was destroyed by a pet dog after she passed out from a drug overdose. Slowly but surely, Dinoire is returning to a normal life: She’s gaining feeling in her new flesh, and she’s eating, which was difficult after the surgery. The photo in The Sunday Times shows Dinoire’s mouth sagging a bit. And while scars are evident at this early stage in her recuperation, “she certainly does not look like the living dead,” said one of her surgeons.