Cannibal victim Ronald Poppo has released a video for the first time in almost a year since he was savagely attacked by Rudy Eugene in Miami, Florida.
Poppo, 66, had over 75 percent of his face chewed off by Eugene, who was shot to death by police during the attack.
Poppo is blind as a result of losing both of his eyes from the attack but has since recovered and is happy. He has been living at the Jackson Memorial Perdue Medical Center since a month after the attack.
Doctors have issued a press release saying that Poppo is now "living happily and adjusting to his new life."
Dr. Woody Kassira said at a press conference today: "He's had a long year, but has managed to cope quite well." He has since put on 50 pounds and learned to feed, dress, shower, and shave.
The video clip shows that Poppo is playing the guitar as he continues to recover.
In the video, Poppo says "I thank the outpouring of people in the community and I will always be grateful for that."
He also said: "Thanks for contributing and helping out. People in my predicament need to be helped out and I am sure there are people also that have the same type of predicament."
Poppo is so far content with how his life is now after undergoing four surgeries so far.
Surgeon Urmen Desai says: "He's blind, he can't see what he looks like, and it's not important to him how the world sees him. He wants the world to know he's not traumatized by this ... and that he's happy and grateful for being alive after such an incident."
Poppo was attacked on May 26 last year by Rudy Eugene.
Eugene, 31, was naked when he pounced on Poppo who was napping under the MacArthur Causeway in daylight. The attack was caught on surveillance cameras from the Miami Herald building. The video showed Eugene stripping Poppo before attacking his face.
Passersby reported the scene to police, who came and saw the horrific attack. An officer shot and killed Eugene on the spot after he refused to stop eating Poppo's face.
"[Eugene] was like a zombie, blood dripping, it was intense," witness Larry Vega told the New York Daily News. "The closest thing I've seen to it? 'The Walking Dead.'"
Poppo had been living homeless in Florida for the past 30 years and his estranged family had thought he was dead before they found out he was the victim of the cannibal attack."
