Patrick Hardison was a volunteer firefighter and devoted family man when, in 2001, his life changed forever. While responding to a house fire, Patrick bravely entered the burning structure to rescue a woman he believed was trapped inside. Though she was ultimately safe, Patrick suffered catastrophic injuries during the rescue.
The blaze left him with third-degree burns to his entire face and scalp. He lost his ears, lips, most of his eyelid tissue, and most of his nose. For years, he wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, and prosthetic ears in public to shield himself from the stares and reactions of others. He recalled heartbreaking moments when children would run away in fear at the sight of him.
But in 2015, Patrick’s life changed once again—this time through hope, courage, and medical innovation. That year, he underwent the most extensive face transplant ever performed. The surgery carried immense risks, with only a 50/50 chance of survival. Over 100 medical professionals, working in two teams, spent 26 hours performing the groundbreaking procedure.
Miraculously, the transplant was a success. Today, Patrick Hardison lives with his beloved wife and children, embracing life with renewed confidence.
His story stands as a powerful testament to human resilience and the astounding advances of modern medicine. Surgeons today can replace a heart, a kidney—and in rare cases like Patrick’s—even an entire face.
Face transplants, though still rare, have been possible since 2005, when Isabelle Dinoire became the first person in the world to receive one. A decade later, Patrick became the first American to undergo the procedure, and his journey remains one of the most inspiring medical triumphs to date.
For years, it seemed Patrick Hardison was destined to live a life shadowed by stares, whispers, and fear. Children would run away upon seeing his face, and adults would point or quietly comment. But in 2015, everything changed when he became the recipient of the most extensive face transplant ever performed.
At the time, the odds were daunting—Patrick had only a 50/50 chance of surviving the groundbreaking procedure due to its complexity. Yet against all odds, the surgery was a success. Today, Patrick has a completely new face—and the transformation is nothing short of remarkable.
Originally from Mississippi, Patrick had dedicated his life to serving others as a volunteer firefighter. But in 2001, while responding to a house fire, tragedy struck.
Patrick was inside the burning home when it suddenly collapsed on top of him. The accident left him with devastating, disfiguring burns to his face, scalp, neck, and upper torso. He lost his ears, lips, most of his eyelids, and his nose. For years afterward, he lived behind sunglasses, a baseball cap, and prosthetic ears, doing his best to stay out of the spotlight.
But Patrick’s courage and the relentless dedication of the medical community gave him a second chance—not just at life, but at being seen as the person he always was.
“[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.
Lost Hope of Living an Ordinary Life
To shield himself from the constant stares and judgment, Patrick always wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, and custom prosthetic ears. But no disguise could truly hide his pain—or the emotional toll his injuries took.
“I had kids. It was just a tough time,” he said. “I never got a day off from the injury. When you walk out in public, it was daily. And, you know, it’s just so—there’s no way to explain everything.”
Even the most ordinary moments required emotional armor. “You go to the ball field, you have to prepare yourself for the kid that goes running off screaming,” Patrick recalled.
Every outing became a reminder of what had been taken from him. The pain wasn’t just physical—it was the isolation, the stares, the whispered comments, and the fear in the eyes of strangers.
For years, Patrick endured not only the physical agony of his injuries, but also the psychological burden of living in a world where he felt unseen for who he truly was. The hope of ever returning to a normal life faded slowly. He began to believe that his disfigured appearance was a permanent curse—something he would carry for the rest of his days.
A New Chance at Life
As time passed, advancements in medical science brought new hope to those once thought beyond help. In 2005, Frenchwoman Isabelle Dinoire became the first person in the world to undergo a face transplant—a groundbreaking moment in medical history.
Yet for Patrick Hardison, hope had all but faded. Despite the progress being made, he believed he would never be among those who could benefit. The challenges were immense, the risks high, and suitable donors nearly impossible to find.
That changed unexpectedly when a friend came across Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, a renowned reconstructive surgeon at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. Dr. Rodriguez had previously performed a face transplant and was intrigued by Patrick’s case. Together, they began a new mission: to find a donor who could give Patrick the second chance he desperately needed.
The search was long and uncertain. After a year, only two potential donors had surfaced. The first seemed promising—but the tissue profile didn’t match. The second was an even better fit, but the family ultimately withdrew consent.
Once again, Patrick was faced with the possibility that a transplant might never happen. He prepared himself to live out his days in the shadows.
Then, out of the blue, everything changed.
LiveOnNY, a nonprofit that facilitates organ donation in the New York area, contacted the team: a match had been found. The donor was David Rodebaugh, a 26-year-old aspiring artist and cyclist who had suffered a fatal head injury in a biking accident. He was declared brain dead, but his organs were still viable.
David’s mother, Nancy Millar, had already made the generous and courageous decision to donate her son’s heart, liver, and kidneys. But she didn’t stop there.
“I said, ‘You better save his face. He has the face of a porcelain doll,’” Nancy recalled in an interview with People. “And he’s a donor—we had talked about it.”
When she learned about Patrick’s story and the possibility that her son’s face could give another man his life back, she didn’t hesitate. For Nancy, it was a way for David to live on in a truly extraordinary way.
The Perfect Match — And a Life-Altering Decision
“When I met Patrick, I saw this strength—this strong, manly, burly kind of energy in him—that David had,” said Nancy Millar, mother of face donor David Rodebaugh.
“David wanted to be a firefighter, and I knew if this guy was a firefighter—someone willing to walk into a fire to save others and risk his own life—then he had the strength that David had.”
Nancy’s instinct was right. Patrick Hardison had risked everything for others, and now, through her son’s ultimate gift, he had one more chance to live.
The Most Complex Face Transplant Ever Performed
Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, the lead surgeon at NYU Langone Medical Center, assembled a team of over 100 doctors, nurses, and medical staff. Together, they prepared for what would become the most extensive soft tissue face transplant in history.
The surgery took an astonishing 26 hours.
Patrick received a new face, complete with a scalp, ears, and functioning ear canals. Surgeons also reconstructed parts of his facial bone structure, including the cheeks, chin, and entire nose. Perhaps most remarkably, they gave him new eyelids—restoring his ability to blink and protecting his eyesight for the first time in years.
A Risk Like No Other
But the groundbreaking procedure came with tremendous risk. Patrick had only a 50/50 chance of surviving the surgery.
“Everything in life has a risk,” Patrick told Time magazine. “When it’s your time to go, you’ll go—whether you’re walking down the street and get hit by a car, or you’re lying on the operating table.”
Fully aware of the dangers, Patrick spent what could’ve been his final moments with his family before being wheeled into the operating room. It was a moment of courage, hope, and faith—a leap toward a future he had nearly given up on.
“I’ll Look Normal When I Walk You Down the Aisle”
As Patrick prepared for the life-risking surgery, his eldest daughter, Alison, struggled to understand why he was so determined to go through with such a dangerous procedure.
“He said, ‘I won’t have to wear a ball cap and I won’t have to wear my sunglasses. I’ll look normal whenever I get to walk you down the aisle,’” Alison recalled.
“And that, right then, pretty much sealed the deal for me.”
A Grueling Recovery
The surgery was a remarkable success—but it was only the beginning of a long and difficult recovery. In the first week alone, Patrick faced serious complications, including dangerous drops in blood pressure and issues with an unstable airway that kept doctors on edge.
His new face, though a miracle of science, presented a steep learning curve. Patrick had to relearn basic functions—how to speak, how to swallow. Swelling made it difficult for him to even close his mouth, and the frustration at times felt overwhelming. He also battled waves of anxiety as he adjusted to his dramatically changed appearance and physical capabilities.
A Life Transformed
But through all the pain and setbacks, one truth became clear: the surgery had given Patrick a second chance at life.
“They have given me a new life,” he said, reflecting on the gift he had received.
One of the most moving moments came when Patrick finally got to meet Nancy Millar, the mother of his donor, David Rodebaugh. Their first meeting was emotional and heartfelt—two lives forever connected by unimaginable loss and extraordinary generosity.
“I said, ‘Can I kiss your forehead?’” Nancy recalled. “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.”
Patrick, overcome with gratitude, responded simply: “I’ve been waiting a year to meet her. I’m just very grateful. Without her, it wouldn’t have been possible. It’s like she’s family. We connected that easily.”
A New Life and a New Purpose
It’s been seven years since Patrick underwent his groundbreaking face transplant. In that time, his life has transformed in ways he never imagined.
While his face healed remarkably well and the swelling subsided, there were challenges along the way. He was forced to take anti-rejection medications for the rest of his life to prevent his immune system from attacking the transplant. Despite these lifelong precautions, the surgery gave Patrick the chance to truly live again.
“I am deeply grateful to my donor and his family,” Patrick said in a heartfelt statement. “Even though I did not know who they would be, I prayed for them every day, knowing the difficult decision they would have to make in order to help me.”
“I hope they see in me the goodness of their decision. I also want to thank Dr. Rodriguez and his amazing team. They have given me more than a new face. They have given me a new life.”
Life After the Surgery
Though his marriage to Chrissi ended a year after the transplant, Patrick’s life is still filled with purpose and hope. His face may have been the most visible change, but his heart and spirit have evolved in equally significant ways.
Today, Patrick, now a father of five, wants to use his experience to inspire others. His journey is a testament to the power of resilience and hope, and he’s determined to share that message with the world.
“I’ve bought my own place, working on getting a house built. I’m working on a book,” he told Fox News in 2021. “Because I want to show the world that you can have hope. I wouldn’t want people who were like me years ago to think that’s it, I have to live like this. You don’t. You can accomplish anything.”
An Inspiration for the World
Patrick Hardison’s story is one of courage, transformation, and the unshakable belief that it’s never too late to start again. His second chance at life isn’t just about his new face; it’s about the possibility of healing, the power of hope, and the profound impact of one person’s decision to give.
