The life story of Patrick Hardison from Mississippi is nothing less than a mind-blowing one. This man is the first American who has received a face transplant back in 2015 after his face and neck were left completely disfigured during a house fire.
Patrick’s life was a great one up until the day the tragedy struck in 2001.
He worked as a volunteer firefighter earlier in his life, so when he got called to help with a house fire, he didn’t hesitate. Sadly, once he entered the burning place, it collapsed on top of him and trapped him. He couldn’t move and his torso and face were severely burnt.
“[My mask] was melting to my face,” Patrick recalled. “My hose [was] already melted.”
“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 told CBS News of seeing Patrick after the accident.
Patrick suffered third degree burns on his face and scalp. He also sustained 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,” Patrick 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.
Over the years, this man was forced to undergo over 70 surgeries, as well as other procedures. He couldn’t close his eyes and doctors were able to put together flaps of skin to protect his vision, but he was still facing the risk of going blind.
Patrick couldn’t eat without feeling excruciating pain. He just couldn’t get used to this life because he couldn’t look at himself in the mirror. Wherever he went, everyone starred at him, and he could barely stand being around people, even his children.
In order to hide and protect himself, Patrick wore sunglasses and a baseball cap all the time. He also had ear prosthetic.
“I had kids. It was just a tough time. 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,” he told Yahoo! Sports.
“You go to the ball field, you have to prepare yourself for the kid that goes running off screaming.”
Years went by and Patrick lost hope of ever having a normal life. But then, French woman named Isabelle Dinoire received a partial face transplant after her face was severely disfigured by her pet dog. This procedure was revolutionary. It was the first ever of that kind. Surely, it gave a glimpse of hope to Patrick who at that point was truly struggling.
Patrick met doctor Eduardo D. Rodriguez from the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York who told him he would do the transplant surgery if they find a matching donor. It wasn’t easy, but one day, out of the blue, a donor appeared. LiveOnNY, a nonprofit that coordinates organ donations in the New York area, had found a match. The face Patrick was about to get belonged to 26-year-old David Rodebaugh who had sustained a massive head injury in a bike accident and had been declared brain dead.
This young man’s mother, Nancy Millar, decided to donate her son’s organs, including his face. “I said, ‘You better save his face. He has the face of a porcelain doll.’ And he’s a donor — we had talked about it,” Millar told People.
The thought of someone receiving her son’s face meant that David would continue to live on through the people whose lives he was about to save, including Patrick’s.
“When I met Patrick, I saw this strength, this strong, manly, burly kind of energy in him — that David had,” Nancy recalled.
“David wanted to be a firefighter, an I knew if this guy was a firefighter — he was willing to walk into a fire to save people and risk his own life — then he had the strength that David had.”
Finally, the day of the transplant surgery had arrived. The procedure lasted for 26 long hours and was performed by a team of 100 professionals.
The risk was enormous and Patrick was given a 50/50 percent chance of survival. Luckily, it was a huge success. Patrick received a new face, scalp, ears, and ear canals. He also received eyelids which allowed him to blink naturally and save his vision.
“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.”
After he recovered from the swelling and he learned how to talk and swallow again, Patrick met his donor’s mother. Nancy only had one request, to kiss Patrick on the forehead.
“I said, ‘Can I kiss your forehead?’” Nancy said. “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.”
“I’ve been waiting a year to meet her. I’m just very grateful,” Patrick added. “Without her, it wouldn’t have been possible. It’s like she’s family. We connected that easily.”
Ever since the surgery, Patrick is taking anti-rejection drugs that prevent his immune system from rejecting the face, but he’s thriving. He didn’t only receive a new face but a new life too.
Today, he is divorced and is working on a book which he hopes would serve as an inspiration to anyone who believes there is no way out from the situation they have found themselves in. “Because I want to show the world that you can have hope. I wouldn’t want people that were like me years ago to think that’s it, I have to live like this. You don’t. You can accomplish anything,” Patrick says.
His survival and his recovery are dubbed miraculous. Thanks to Nancy, Dr. Rodriguez and his team, and Patrick’s strong will, today, he is a happy man.
Baggage handler reveals why you should never tie a ribbon on your luggage
You can relate to the anxiety of seeing hundreds of nearly identical suitcases go past on the conveyor belt if you’ve ever spent any time at all at an airport looking through the carousel for your most valuable belongings.
An airport employee is cautioning customers against using personal markers because they come with baggage that you cannot unload. Astute tourists have found that attaching a ribbon on their luggage helps it stand out from the others.
Discover why you should never travel with marzipan or use ribbons by reading on!
Even experienced travelers can become terrified at the mere prospect of misplacing their bags while on a trip.
Travelers are fastening vibrant ribbons on their suitcases to ensure that they stand out from the others, lowering the possibility that their luggage will be snatched by another passenger or that they would constantly watch it slowly spin by on the conveyor belt.
However, a luggage handler at Dublin Airport going by the name of John claims that these well-liked tips are more harmful than helpful.
As a matter of fact, it might fulfill your worst travel fear.
Don’t take the ribbon with you.
John disclosed to RSVP Live that attaching identifying ribbons to your luggage may result in delays, potentially causing your items to miss the trip.
John informed the source that “tying ribbons to one’s suitcase to aid in identification can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall.” “Your bag might not make it to the flight if it can’t be scanned automatically and has to be processed manually.”
Your suitcase will have a higher chance of arriving at its destination if it is checked in without identifying marks like ribbons or outdated travel stickers.
John suggests: “Remove outdated stickers from the bag as they may interfere with the scanning process.”
If you take marzipan, the delightfully sweet almond dessert, on vacation, John cautions you that it could cause issues with your luggage and possibly result in a security alert.
“Never put marzipan in your suitcase. The Dublin baggage expert stated, “Your bag will be removed and you will be called from the plane for a bag search because it has the same density as some explosives.”
Last but not least, make sure your luggage is wheels side up to prevent damage before putting it on the little conveyor belt for handlers like John.
No more ordinary luggage
You no longer need to carry standard black, brown, or blue luggage because luggage has changed dramatically over the past few decades.
Travel & Leisure claims that black luggage is quite popular since it is “one of the most – if not, the most – versatile color.”
“For this reason, it’s worth selecting a different hue if you want your luggage to stand out at baggage claim,” the outlet says. Consider a suitcase with a design instead, or one that’s brightly colored, like hot pink.
If you’re not a fan of pink, you may still buy baggage that will stand out from the crowd in a variety of vivid, striking colors.
Consider adding identifying elements that won’t obstruct scanning with fabric paint or stickers if you’re unwilling to part with your current containers.
Travelers everywhere should find some relief from tension by following the advice of the Dublin Airport handler!
What advice would you provide tourists to assist them steer clear of airport mishaps? Please let us know what you think and then forward this story to others so we can hear from them as well!
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