Pro Skateboarder, Brooklinn Khoury, Learning To 'Love Myself Again' After Pitbull Attack

Brooklinn Khoury is reflecting on her recovery journey after being attacked by a pitbull.

In a new exclusive with People, Brooklinn opens about that fateful day and how life has changed since.

The pro-skateboarder and model was enjoying her day on November 3, 2020, before the unthinkable happened.

She was hanging out with her cousin in Gilbert, AZ enjoying some fun in the sun.

Brooklinn and her cousin got their nails done and ran some errands, before going back to her cousin’s home.

Once they got back, Brooklinn bent down to pet her cousin’s eight-year-old blue-nose pitbull named Diesel.

"I was like, 'You're such a good boy.' He literally sprung from a sitting position like onto my face," she recalls to People in the latest issue.

Diesel was flinging, flailing and hanging onto Brooklinn’s face for dear life.

"I was standing, and he was sitting — he literally just sprung up. And 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.'"

This is when the model decided to lower herself to ground and follow every move the dog made.

Eventually the dog let go, but the damage was done.

She noticed her t-shirt was covered in blood and that a pale pink chunk of skin had flung off from her face.

"Finally, I felt a release. And then, something flew and hit the wall," she recalled.

Brooklinn and her cousin rushed to the ER where doctors told her that her lip had been ripped off, and that they wouldn’t be able to attach it.

The boarder decided to document her road to recovery on social media.

"Life is not perfect," she told the outlet. "Instagram is a place where people can hide who they really are."

The young model admitted it was ‘scary’ upon looking at herself for the first time after surgery.

"But I was like, 'Okay, time to love this new version of myself for now.' I want people to know that they're not alone if they're going through something like this," Brooklinn revealed.

She also admitted she was scared her girlfriend, former ‘Dance Moms’ alum, Chloé Lukasiak, would not find her ‘pretty’ after the incident.

"I was like, "What if she doesn't think I'm pretty anymore?'”

Lukasiak has stood by her and encouraged her to continue pushing forward and tells her how beautiful she is every day.

"She's just incredible," Brooklinn told People about her girlfriend. "She's the best."

The model and athlete will have to undergo five reconstructive surgeries to get a new upper lip put on.

She recently had her first surgery.

Brooklinn said, "I'm learning to love myself. I want to inspire as many people as I can."