{"id":2952,"date":"2026-06-10T18:59:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/?p=2952"},"modified":"2026-06-10T18:59:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:59:02","slug":"firefighter-suffers-third-degree-burns-this-is-him-11-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/?p=2952","title":{"rendered":"Firefighter suffers third-degree burns \u2013 this is him 11 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Patrick Hardison received devastating injuries in a house fire as he attempted to rescue a woman he believed to be trapped in the blaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brave man was left with third-degree burns to his entire face and scalp \u2013 for years, he wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, and prosthetic ears in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patrick recalled children running away when they saw him, but his life changed again in 2015 when he underwent the most extensive face transplant ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As per reports, Hardison had a 50\/50 chance of surviving the face transplant. However, the surgery, which took 26 hours and more than 100 people working in two teams, was a success. Today, Patrick Hardison is living life alongside his beloved wife and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019s all you need to know about his incredible story \u2013 and what Patrick looks like today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we have so much knowledge about the human body. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, and all others in the field of medicine are true heroes, doing everything they can to help people get better. Moreover, it\u2019s mind-blowing what can be done to save a life these days. Take, for example, surgeons who can replace a heart or a kidney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patrick Hardison \u2013 face transplant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the knowledge experts have today, it\u2019s even possible to completely transform a person\u2019s face for those in need. Face transplants have been performed since 2005, when Isabelle Dinoire became the first-ever 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Like any other loving father, Patrick attended his children\u2019s sporting activities and liked spending time with his family. The volunteer fireman always endeavored to help his community in any way he could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day in 2001, though, the lives of he and his family would change forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick was called out to a house fire, where he sustained extensive facial burns to his upper torso, head, and neck. The blaze also claimed his ears, lips, most of his eyelid tissue, and most of his nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seemed as though he was destined to face a life of children running away from him and other parents whispering and pointing. But in 2015, the most extensive face transplant ever performed became a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick had only a 50\/50 chance of surviving the procedure, such was its complexity. Today, he has an entirely new face \u2013 and looks nothing short of incredible. Here\u2019s all you need to know about the mind-blowing story of Patrick Hardison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Hardison from Mississippi worked as a volunteer firefighter earlier on in his life. In 2001, he responded to a house fire when a horrible accident occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disfiguring injuries in a house fire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hardison was inside a burning home when it collapsed on top of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201c[My mask] was melting to my face,\u201d Hardison said. \u201cMy hose [was] already melted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He managed to escape through a window, but his head and upper body were already on fire, and Patrick suffered horrific injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor somebody who does what we do for a living, I\u2019ve never seen anybody burned that bad that was still alive,\u201d friend and first responder Jimmy Neal recalled of seeing Hardison after the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t actually see myself until probably November. I got injured in September,\u201d Hardison told Fox News. \u201cThey 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, \u2018this is it? I can\u2019t do this,\u2019\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t eat or laugh without feeling pain, and he couldn\u2019t even blink or close his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surgeons eventually used flaps of skin to protect his vision. Still, he remained at risk of slowly but surely going blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the years went by, Patrick had difficulties accepting his appearance. Just being with his children \u2013 or by himself, for that matter \u2013 became a nightmare. People pointed at him, and the children were scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lost hope of living an ordinary life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Patrick always wore a baseball cap and sunglasses, along with specially designed prosthetics that replaced his ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI 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\u2019s just so \u2014 there\u2019s no way to explain everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou go to the ball field, you have to prepare yourself for the kid that goes running off screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, Patrick battled pain and staring from people when walking down the street. He was losing all hope of living an ordinary life, and started to think that his disfigured appearance was one he would be cursed with forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Patrick Hardison received devastating injuries in a house fire as he attempted to rescue a woman he believed to be trapped in the blaze. This brave man… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2954,"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2952\/revisions\/2954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerimatonews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}