Patrick Hardison suffered severe burns in a house fire while trying to rescue a woman he thought was trapped in the flames.
This brave man was left with third-degree burns on his entire face and scalp. For years, he wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, and prosthetic ears in public.
Patrick recalled that children would run away when they saw him. But his life changed again in 2015 when he underwent the most extensive face transplant ever.
Reportedly, Hardison had a 50 percent chance of surviving the face transplant. However, the operation (which lasted 26 hours and involved more than 100 people) was a success.
Today, Patrick Hardison continues to live with his beloved wife and children.
This is everything you need to know about his incredible story and how Patrick looks today.
These days, we have much knowledge about the human body. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, and all others in the field of medicine are true heroes. They do everything they can to help people get better.
Moreover, it is astounding what can be done in today’s world to save a life. Surgeons, for example, who can replace a heart or a kidney.
Patrick Hardison underwent face transplantation
With the knowledge experts have today, it is even possible to change an entire face for people in need.
Face transplants have been performed since 2005, when Isabelle Dinoire became the very first 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.
Just like any caring father, Patrick was present at his children’s sporting activities and enjoyed spending time with his family. The volunteer firefighter always tried to help his community in any way he could.
But one day in 2001, his life and his family’s life would change forever.
Patrick was called to a house fire, where he suffered severe burns to his upper body, head, and neck. The fire also claimed his ears, lips, most of his eyelids, and most of his nose.
It seemed like he was destined to live a life where children would run away from him, and other parents would whisper and point at him. But in 2015, the most extensive face transplant ever performed became a reality.
Patrick had only a 50 percent chance of surviving the procedure, that’s how complex the operation was. Today, he has a completely new face and looks incredible. Here is everything you need to know about the astonishing story of Patrick Hardison.
The article continues below the image.
Patrick Hardison from Mississippi worked as a volunteer firefighter earlier in his life. In 2001, he responded to a house fire when a terrible accident occurred.
Gruesome injuries in house fire
Hardison found himself in a burning house when it collapsed on him.
“My mask melted to my face,” Hardison said. “My hose melted.”
He managed to escape through a window, but his head and upper body were already on fire, causing Patrick to suffer horrific injuries.
“For someone who does what we do for a living, I’ve never seen somebody as severely burned as he was still living,” friend and first responder Jimmy Neal recalled of Hardison after the accident.
The father had third-degree burns on his entire face and scalp. Additionally, he suffered facial burns to his head, neck, and upper body. The fire also claimed his ears, lips, most of his nose, and even most of his eyelid tissue.
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“I actually didn’t look at myself until November. I got injured in September,” Hardison told Fox News. “They had cut a small hole in one of my eyelids because everything was covered in skin grafts. I looked in the mirror, and all I could do, I said ‘Is this it? I can’t do this,’ he remembered.
A new life awaited Hardison. He underwent 71 operations and several other procedures, but he was still unable to form a normal facial expression. Patrick could not eat or smile without feeling pain, and he couldn’t even blink or close his eyes.
Surgeons were eventually able to apply skin flaps to protect his eyesight. However, he remained at risk of slowly going blind.
As the years went by, Patrick struggled to accept his appearance. Simply being with his children became a nightmare. People pointed at him, and the children were scared.
Hope lost on normal life
Patrick always wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, as well as specially designed prosthetics to replace his ears.
“I have kids. It was just a tough time. I never got a day off from the injury. If you’re walking in public, it was daily. And, you know, it’s just like that. There’s no way to explain it all,” he said.
“If you go to the ball field, you have to prepare for the kid who’s going to run screaming.”
For years, Patrick battled the pain and the stares of people as he walked down the street. He lost all hope of a normal life and began to think that his disfigured appearance was one he would be cursed with forever.
But over time, surgeons developed new methods for face transplants. Eventually, in 2005, Isabelle Dinoire became the first person ever to undergo a face transplant. However, Hardison had given up hope of getting the help he so desperately wished for.
