Patrick Hardison’s Incredible Journey from Third-Degree Burns to Today’s Face Transplant Miracle

You have undoubtedly heard some amazing tales, but this one concerning the life of Mississippian Patrick Hardison is going to blow your mind!

Following his extensive facial scarring from being caught in a burning house in 2001, Patrick became the first person to receive a face transplant in 2015.

Early in childhood, he started working as a volunteer fireman. Up until the day a house fell on top of him, trapping him, he never hesitated to aid anyone who asked for assistance. His face and torso were badly burnt.

“My face was being melted into my mask,” Patrick had a terrible encounter. “My hose was melted already.”

Upon encountering Patrick following the accident, friend and first responder Jimmy Neal remarked, “For somebody who does what we do for a living, I’ve never seen anybody burned that bad who was still alive.”

It was determined that Patrick had third-degree burns on his face and scalp. He also received burns on his neck, upper chest, and head. He had completely damaged much of the tissue on his nose, eyelids, and lips.

“I think I didn’t recognize myself until November.” “In September, I sustained an injury,” Patrick said to Fox News. “They had covered everything with a skin graft, so they had cut a tiny pinhole in one of my eyelids.” “Is this it?” was all I could think of as I gazed in the glass. “It’s impossible for me,” he recalled.

Unbelievably, Patrick had to go through about 70 surgeries and other treatments. He was still in danger of losing his sight even though surgeons had to stitch skin flaps together to protect it since he was unable to conceal his eyes.

Every time he had a meal, the pain was intolerable. Everywhere he went, people would stare at him because he couldn’t stand to look at himself in the mirror. He was incompatible with everyone, not even his own kids.

To safeguard his looks and self-esteem, Patrick consistently donned sunglasses and a baseball cap. He had an ear prosthetic on as well.

“I had children. It was just a difficult moment. The injury never allowed me to take a day off. It happens every day when you go out in public. And, you know, it’s just that everything is beyond explanation,” he said to Yahoo! Sports.

“You have to get ready for the kid who runs off screaming when you go to the ball field.”

Patrick had given up on ever leading a “normal” life, but everything changed when Isabelle Dinoire, a Frenchwoman, had her face completely transplanted after her dog had destroyed much of it. With this groundbreaking process, Patrick felt that he may be the next person in line.

He spoke with Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez of NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, who assured him that, provided a matched donor could be found, he would do all in his power to carry out the face transplant as well as possible. A match was eventually discovered by LiveOnNY, a nonprofit organization that arranges organ donations in New York.

Following a serious bike accident, 26-year-old David Rodebaugh suffered a significant head injury and was deemed brain dead. Patrick was set to have a face transplant of his.

David Rodebaugh’s mother, Nancy Millar, made the decision to donate all of her son’s organs, including his face: “I told you to save his face. His visage resembles that of a porcelain doll. We had discussed the fact that he is a donor, too,” Millar told People.

Her goal was that some portion of her son’s legacy will be utilized to save lives, maybe even Patrick’s.

Nancy said, “I saw this strength, this manly, burly kind of energy in him when I met Patrick; that’s what David had.”

“I knew this guy had the strength David had if he was a firefighter because he was willing to walk into a fire to save people and risk his own life.” David had always aspired to be a firefighter.

When the time finally arrived, hundreds of experts carried out the 26-hour surgery.

Every surgery has some danger, of course, and the prognosis was 50% for this particular one. However, Patrick was fortunate to have hundreds of experts at his disposal. He was given a new face, scalp, ears, eyelids, and ear canals, which preserved his vision and allowed him to blink normally.

“Life is full of risks,” Patrick stated to Time Magazine.

“When the time comes, you’ll go, no matter if you’re lying on the operating table or getting struck by a car while strolling down the street.”

Following his recovery from the swelling and regained ability to swallow and speak, Patrick had a meeting with Nancy, the mother of the donor. Her one sweet request was to give Patrick a forehead kiss.

“May I kiss your forehead?” I said. stated Nancy. “That’s the one thing I wanted to do because when David was little, I used to kiss his forehead every night before he went to bed.”

It has taken me a year to finally meet her. Just saying thanks, Patrick continued. It would never have been feasible without her. She seems like family to me. We had a really easy connection.

In order to keep your body from viewing your transplant as a “foreign invader” and rejecting it, Patrick and those who undergo organ transplants take anti-rejection drugs that suppress your immune system. But Patrick is doing great with his new view on life and his facial hair.

He is currently divorced and writing a book to assist those who believe there is no way out of a predicament they have put themselves in.

“Because I want to demonstrate to everyone that hope is possible.” I would prefer that others who were similar to me years ago not believe that this is the only way I have to live. It’s not you. You are capable of anything,” says Patrick.

It is considered remarkable that he survived the accident and recovered fully. Thanks to Nancy’s kind offer and all the experts who worked on his face, Patrick is a happy guy today.

To offer your family and friends hope, kindly SHARE this incredible tale with them!

Related Posts

Man Shares Terrifying Never Before Seen Twin Tower Collapse Video

A man posts terrifying, never-before-seen video of the Twin Towers collapsing. Over two decades after the horrific events of September 11, 2001, a guy has revealed never-before-seen…

In the 1990s, this woman was the object of every guy’s desire—it’s almost unbelievable. THE COOLEST GIRL IN THE ENTIRE USA WAS HER.

Legendary actress Heather Locklear, known for her classic appearances in television shows such as “Dynasty,” “T.J. Hooker,” “Melrose Place,” and “Spin City,” has just made a return…

A boy was assigned a paper on childbirth and asked his parents

A boy was assigned a paper on childbirth and asked his parents: “How was I born?” ‘Well honey…’ said the slightly prudish parent, “An Angel brought you…

Woman Panics When The Snow Starts Falling. Then Her Husband Says This

Woman Panics When The Snow Starts Falling. Then Her Husband Says This. One winter morning while listening to the radio, Bob and his wife hear the announcer…

HE SHOCKED HIS OLD WIFE BY SAYING HE’D RATHER BE WITH A 23-YEAR-OLD. HER REPLY IS PRICELESS.

HE SHOCKED HIS OLD WIFE BY SAYING HE’D RATHER BE WITH A 23-YEAR-OLD. HER REPLY IS PRICELESS. After being married for 50 years, I took a careful…

Little Boy Rewrites Letter to Santa

Seven-year-old James strolled the Atlanta Christkindl Market, dreaming of a new iPad from Santa. His parents emphasized the joy of family time over gifts. Spotting his former…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *