Patrick Hardison received devastating injuries in a house fire as he attempted to rescue a woman he believed to be trapped in the blaze.
This brave man was left with third-degree burns to his entire face and scalp – for years he wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, and prosthetic ears in public.
Patrick recalled children running away when they saw him, but his life changed again in 2015 when he underwent the most extensive face transplant ever.
As per reports, Hardison had a 50/50 chance of surviving the face transplant. However, the surgery – which took 26 hours and more than 100 people working in two teams – was a success. Today, Patrick Hardison is living life alongside his beloved wife and children.
Here’s all you need to know about his incredible story – and what Patrick looks like today.
Today, we have so much knowledge about the human body. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, and all others in the field of medicine are true heroes, doing everything they can to help people get better. Moreover, it’s mind-blowing what can be done to save a life these days. Take for example, surgeons who can replace a heart or a kidney.
Patrick Hardison – face transplant
With the knowledge experts have today, it’s even possible to change an entire face for people in need. Face transplants have been performed since 2005, when Isabelle Dinoire became the first-ever person to receive one. In 2015, another very special face transplant was performed in the US, when Patrick Hardison became the first American to undergo the procedure.
Like any other loving father, Patrick attended his children’s sporting activities, and liked spending time with his family. The volunteer fireman always endeavored to help his community in any way he could.
One day in 2001, though, the lives of he and his family would change forever.
Patrick was called out to a house fire, where he sustained extensive facial burns to his upper torso, head, and neck. The blaze also claimed his ears, lips, most of his eyelid tissue, and most of his nose.
It seemed as though he was destined to face a life of children running away from him and others parents whispering and pointing. But in 2015, the most extensive face transplant ever performed became a reality.
Patrick had only a 50/50 chance of surviving the procedure, such was its complexity. Today, he has an entirely new face – and looks nothing short of incredible. Here’s all you need to know about the mind-blowing story of Patrick Hardison.
Patrick Hardison from Mississippi worked as a volunteer firefighter earlier on in his life. In 2001, he responded to a house fire when a horrible accident occurred.
Disfiguring injuries in a house fire
Hardison was inside a burning home when it collapsed on top of him.
“[My mask] was melting to my face,” Hardison said. “My hose [was] already melted.”
He managed to escape through a window, but his head and upper body were already on fire, and Patrick suffered horrific injuries.
“For somebody who does what we do for a living, I’ve never seen anybody burned that bad that was still alive,” friend and first responder Jimmy Neal recalled of seeing Hardison after the accident.
The father had third-degree burns on his entire face and scalp. In addition, he sustained facial burns to his head, neck, and upper torso. The fire also claimed his ears, lips, most of his nose, and even most of his eyelid tissue.
“I didn’t actually see myself until probably November. I got injured in September,” Hardison told Fox News. “They had cut a little pinhole in one of my eyelids because they had everything covered, skin graft. I looked in the mirror and all I could do, I said, ‘this is it? I can’t do this,’” he recalled.
A new life awaited Hardison. He underwent 71 surgeries and several other procedures, but he was still unable to form normal facial expressions. Patrick couldn’t eat or laugh without feeling pain, and he couldn’t even blink or close his eyes.
Surgeons were eventually able to put together flaps of skin to protect his vision. Still, he remained at risk of slowly but surely going blind.
As the years went by, Patrick had difficulties accepting his appearance. Just being with his children – or by himself, for that matter – became a nightmare. People pointed at him, and the children were scared.
