During the assignment, this firefighter burned his entire face. This is what his face looks like after 7 years
In a house fire while attempting to save a woman he thought was trapped inside, Patrick Hardison sustained severe injuries.
This courageous man, who suffered third-degree burns to his entire face and scalp, spent years going about town with a baseball cap, sunglasses, and artificial ears.
Patrick recounted that when they saw him, children would run away, but in 2015, his life took another turn for the better when he received the most thorough face transplant ever performed.
According to sources, Hardison’s chances of surviving the face transplant were 50/50. The procedure, which required more than 100 people to work in two teams over the course of 26 hours, was a success. Patrick Hardison is currently sharing his life with his cherished wife and kids.
Here is everything you need to know about Patrick’s amazing life story, including current photos of Patrick.
We now know a great deal about the human body. All medical professionals—doctors, nurses, surgeons, and others—are true heroes because they go above and beyond to aid in patients’ recovery. Furthermore, what can be done to save a life today is astounding. Take for instance surgeons who are capable of transplanting organs such as hearts and kidneys.
Patrick Hardison, recipient of a face transplant
It is even conceivable, with the skills that experts have today, to completely alter a person’s appearance for those who are in need. Since 2005, when Isabelle Dinoire became the first person to ever have a face transplant, doctors have been able to successfully execute face transplant surgery on other patients.
In 2015, the United States was home to another one of the world’s most extraordinary face transplants when Patrick Hardison became the first American to go through with the operation.
Patrick was a doting father who, like any other caring parent would, took an interest in his children’s extracurricular activities and enjoyed spending time with his family. The volunteer fireman made it his mission to assist his town in any manner that he could, and he never failed to do so.
However, on a certain day in 2001, his life and the lives of his family would be altered irrevocably.
When Patrick was dispatched to a house fire, he suffered severe face burns all over his upper body, including his head and neck. In addition, the fire destroyed most of his nose, his ears, lips, and eyelid tissue.
It seems as though he would spend his life dealing with kids avoiding him and other parents pointing and muttering. However, the most thorough face transplant ever undertaken was made possible in 2015.
Given the difficulty of the procedure, Patrick’s chances of surviving were only 50/50. He looks nothing short of amazing today with his completely new face. Here is all the information you require regarding Patrick Hardison’s astounding tale.
Earlier in his life, Mississippian Patrick Hardison served as a volunteer firefighter. He responded to a house fire in 2001 when a terrible incident took place.
Burns to the face caused by a house fire
When a flaming house collapsed on top of Hardison, he was inside.
Hardison said: “[My mask] was melting to my face. My hose [was] already melted.”
Despite being able to escape through a window, Patrick suffered terrible injuries and had a burning head and upper torso.
Friend and the first person on the scene Jimmy Neal recounted of seeing Hardison in the aftermath of the accident: “For somebody who does what we do for a living, I’ve never seen anybody burned that bad that was still alive.”
Burns of the third degree covered the entirety of the father’s face as well as his scalp. In addition to this, he suffered burns to the facial region of his head, neck, and upper torso. In addition to his ears and lips, the majority of his nose and even the tissue in his eyelids were consumed by the fire.
As time went on, Patrick struggled to come to terms with his physical appearance. Simply being in the same room as his children, or even just alone himself, turned into a living nightmare for him.
Have given up all hope of living a normal life
Patrick never went anywhere without his trademark baseball cap, sunglasses, and the carefully crafted prosthetics that served as replacements for his ears.
“You go to the ball field, you have to prepare yourself for the kid that goes running off screaming.”
Patrick had to contend with discomfort and people’s stares whenever he went out into public for many years. He had given up all hope of ever leading a normal life and had begun to believe that his damaged appearance was a condition he would have to live with for the rest of his life.
Then, at some point, a friend of theirs ran upon Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, who was employed at the NYU Langone Medical Center in the city of New York. Since this was not Rodriquez’s first time performing a face transplant, the search was on to find Patrick a suitable donor.
David Rodebaugh’s face was donated by Patrick Hardison.
After an entire year of looking, Hardison has only found two people who might be ready to volunteer. The first one was a decent match, but the tissue profile wasn’t a match at all.
The second applicant had a great deal of potential. The man’s family, nevertheless, removed him from consideration.
Hardison was about ready to concede that a face transplant might not be possible for him. Then, suddenly, another potential donor surfaced. A match had been found, according to LiveOnNY, a non-profit that organizes organ donations in the New York region. The face belonged to 26-year-old brain dead bike accident victim David Rodebaugh, who had suffered a severe head injury.
Nancy Millar, David’s mother, elected to give her son’s organs after his death, including his liver, heart, and kidneys. Furthermore, she made the decision to donate his face.
Millar said to People: “I said, ‘You better save his face. He has the face of a porcelain doll.’ And he’s a donor — we had talked about it.”
When she learned about Patrick and the potential for a face transplant, she acted without any hesitation at all. She saw it as David’s chance to continue living.
The 100-person medical staff lead by Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez was convened, and they all worked to get Hardison ready for surgery. It was the largest soft tissue face transplant ever done, and it took an incredible 26 hours to complete.
Although the treatment was a huge success, Patrick still had a very long road ahead of him. He experienced late-night scares including changes in blood pressure and an unstable airway during the first week after the operation.
He struggled with nervousness and experienced moments of irritation as a result of having to relearn how to speak and swallow due to his new face. Because of how swollen his face was, he couldn’t even close his mouth.
“They have given me a new life”
Despite all of that, the operation changed his life. In addition to being delighted to see his family once more, Patrick also had the opportunity to get to know Nancy Millar, the mother of David Rodebaugh. After the procedure, they had an emotional first meeting, and Nancy revealed that she had one request.
Millar said: “I said, ‘Can I kiss your forehead?’. That’s the one thing I wanted to do because every night before David went to bed when he was little, I kissed his forehead.”
Seven years have passed since Patrick had a face transplant. Since then, a lot has changed in his life. After ten years of marriage, he and Chrissi separated one year after the surgery.
The father of five now hopes to share the idea that it’s never too late to give up through using his rehabilitation and journey. Patrick embodies optimism and aspires to assist others who are dealing with disabling injuries.
“I’ve bought my own place, working on getting a house built. I’m working on a book,” he said.
