In a small town of Mississippi, firefighter volunteer Patrick Hardison, 41, met an accident 14 years ago that nearly caused his life. In August, he received the world's most extensive face transplant yet from a plastic surgeon from the New York Langone Medical Center.
In an attempt to rescue a trapped peso inside a burning house, Hardison rushed inside knocking his helmet off and felt his mask melting. He escaped with eyes closed by jumping off a window.
He accumulated third-degree burns on some parts of his face, neck, ears and upper torso. His skin was so damaged that he could no longer close his eyes. "From that day on, September 5, 2001, there was no normal tissue left throughout his face," Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, his attending physician, recalled.
Prior to this operation, Hardison already went through as many as 70 surgeries, but Rodriguez claimed he was still disfigured with "no semblance of normal anatomy." The father of five had to hide behind glasses and baseball caps when going outdoors after the accident.
Following the 26-hour surgery, the New York hospital successfully announced in a press release on Nov. 16, last Monday, that Hardison is now living with BMX extreme bicycle enthusiast David Rodebaugh's face, whose other organs were also donated by the family.
It is noted that Rodebaugh's mother did not hold her thoughts back when asked if she could donate for Hardison. Calling her son "a free spirit who loved life," Hardison received the full scalp and face, ears, lips, nose, and both upper and lower eyelids.
Rodriguez, heading a team of 150 members, performed simultaneous surgeries with both Hardison and Rodebaugh on two different beds. The team took one year to perfect the routine. "You only have one chance to land the rover, same goes with the face... everything has to be perfectly position," said Rodriguez in an interview with Reuters.
The NYU covered all the expenses, which could amount between $850,000 and $1 million. Hardison, in a statement, was thankful to everyone including the donor's family, stating "I hope they see in me the goodness of their decision."
