A real 'toughie' by any standards, Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman - who was brutally attacked by her friend's 200-pound pet chimpanzee on February 16 - is battling for life at the Cleveland Clinic, where she was transferred after initial treatment at Stamford Hospital!

The chimp, owned by Sandra Herold, was later shot and killed by police.

Meanwhile, for the strong woman that Nash is, she has participated on the rodeo track and even driven herself to hospital for her delivery, there is no giving up by her supportive family, so far as the treatment is concerned.

Hospital officials say there are severe cosmetic and neurological issues facing the sedated Nash, 55, who could be practically brain-damaged and blind, after having lost her eyelids, nose, lips and hands in the attack.

Even though Nash's complete recovery remains a cause of concern by the doctors, she might be a candidate for a face transplant surgery. Dr. Kevin Miller, a trauma surgeon at Stamford Hospital, informed 'Good Morning America' that Nash is responding to some commands, but her recovery "could be a weeks-to-months type process."

However, acknowledging that Nash's injuries and the blood loss were so severe that many people would not have survived, Miller said: "You could tell this woman, when she came in . she needed to live, she had a reason to live."