Posted on 11/16/2015 6:00:39 PM PST by Utilizer
(Full title: The man with a new face: Severely injured firefighter risked 50/50 survival rate to have most extensive transplant ever performed)
A former firefighter whose face was so horrifically burnt while tackling a blaze that he 'scared his own children' has been given a brand new one in the most extensive transplant ever performed.
Pat Hardison now wears the face of David Rodebaugh - a 26-year-old who died in August following a cycling accident.
The procedure - which was the riskiest face transplant carried out to date - has left Hardison feeling normal again and it should restore his impaired sight, too.
The Tennessee man was told he had only a 50 per cent chance of surviving the surgery but it was a risk he was willing to take.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Amazing what modern medicine can accomplish these days. Many pictures at link.
What a great story! Thank you.
Anytime. I was reminded when I read it that some of our Wounded Warriors were suffering similar injuries and wondered if any of them would be willing to take a chance as well.
Perhaps someone can ask them.
When you look at where this man said his life was before the operation, Bob Dylan's words seem apropos;
"When you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose."
This story touched on a personal level, as I once new a mate who was a really nice guy -but was so unattractive he just could not seem to find any girl to spend even a little time with.
Shortly after his eighteenth birthday, he committed suicide by jumping off a highway pedestrian overpass and impacting fully on the front of an unsuspecting moving semi-tractor-trailer. Depressed all to hell when I heard about it.
Makes one wonder what you would do when your own kids run screaming at the sight of you, and your wife... well, best not to dwell on that.
I truly found this article inspiring. Despite the 50/50 chance of survival. Some might indeed wish to take the chance if they were given the opportunity.
Thank you for posting this. I heard the story briefly on the radio news during Levin’s show, and was fascinated with what I heard.
Off to read!
Quite welcome. Dunno what I would have done if I were undergoing a similar situation. Wish him all the best.
He went on to have 2 more kids with his wife after the disfigurement. The marriage crashed when he became depressed and addicted to pain killers. But God is good all the time, and this story shows that beautifully.
Mphh... “knew”, not “new”.
Typing much too quickly and not proofreading sufficiently, it would appear.
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