{"id":534,"date":"2025-08-06T03:35:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T03:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/?p=534"},"modified":"2025-08-06T03:35:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T03:35:11","slug":"firefighter-suffers-third-degree-burns-this-is-him-7-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/?p=534","title":{"rendered":"Firefighter suffers third-degree burns \u2013 this is him 7 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Patrick Hardison suffered severe burns while trying to rescue a woman from a house fire in 2001. He endured third-degree burns to his face, scalp, and upper body, which left him disfigured. For years, he wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, and prosthetic ears to hide his appearance. Despite multiple surgeries, he couldn\u2019t regain normal facial functions, and his life became a daily battle with public stares and pain.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theonlinestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/image-223.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16388\" style=\"width:333px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In 2015, after a long search, Patrick became the first American to undergo a face transplant. The surgery, led by Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, took 26 hours and involved more than 100 medical professionals. Patrick\u2019s new face came from David Rodebaugh, a 26-year-old who had died in a bike accident. His mother, Nancy Millar, made the selfless decision to donate David\u2019s face to Patrick.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theonlinestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/image-224.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16389\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The transplant was not without risk, with Patrick\u2019s survival chances at 50\/50. However, the surgery was a success, and Patrick gained not only a new face but a new chance at life. Overcoming the initial challenges of relearning how to speak and swallow, Patrick now leads a fulfilling life, inspired by his recovery and the generosity of David\u2019s family.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theonlinestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/image-225.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16391\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Patrick is working on a book and a new future, using his journey to inspire others never to give up, no matter the challenges they face. His story is a testament to the power of modern medicine, hope, and the strength of the human spirit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patrick Hardison suffered severe burns while trying to rescue a woman from a house fire in 2001. He endured third-degree burns to his face, scalp, and upper&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimebuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}