foxnation.com. that's it for us tonight, we will be back tomorrow and every night 8:00 p.m., the show that is the sworn and sincere enemy of lying, smugness, and groupthink. have the best night. see you soon.w i wanted to take a show and share a passion of mine. this is the most -- over the years i've developed real passion for medicine.

when i would visit these brave men and women that served our country and lost their limbs all because they were defending our liberty and our freedoms and our way of life, i just developed aa passion for the science and the medicine behind this. this is not about republican democrat, liberal, conservative. this is about humanity, saving livesand the incredible miraculous transformation of life that takes place. i saw that firsthand at walter reed. i saw that firsthand and bethesda. now i'm at nyu where they were able to pull up the first transplant, face transplant of a fire fighter that had been severely injured. and then, after a terrible terrible accident, a young man not only got a face transplant but a double hand transplant right in an operating room like this. the science behind it, the medicine behind it, the level of sophistication and detail and intricacy is beyond anything that you would ever imagine. now we're going to walk you e through the miracles of modern w

medicine, the first ever successful face and double hand transplant in the history of this country. and you're going to meet the great dr. eddie rodriguez, the guy responsible, along with a team of 140 people here at nyu come join me for this journey it's not political, it's science, this is about medicinet this is about transforming lives. \m\m >> most people, our faces, well they're our identity. think about someone you know what is the first thing you picture in your mind's eye? right? it's their face. now, imagine one day you wake up after a horrific accident and suddenly you don't have the face you've had your entire life.

something that has destroyed the lives of not just many of our brave men and women, our troops fighting overseas, but also accident victims right here at home. but now medical science and teams of incredibly talented gifted, dedicated doctors, they have been able to do something that was once just science ficttransplant was conducted in 2005. it was a partial face, small segment of the face. we've pushed forward a great deal. >> sean: now one doctor has been at the forefront of these break throughs and has been pushing the envelope of what is possible now for the past decade. dr. eduardo rodriguez, he's the chief of the department of plastic surgery at new york university langone medical center and recognized as aew leader in reconstructive surgery. now in 2012 while at the university of maryland medical center, dr. rodriguez performed the most extensive face transplant to date.

dr. rodriguez was not done pushing the envelope. now his most recent ground-breaking achievement was performing a successful full-face and double hand transplant, the first ever successfully in the world on a brave young man who i'll introduce to you later on. but dr. rodriguez, he didn't even start his career as a doctor at all. the son of cuban immigrants, he first trained to be a dentist. >> to be honest, i went to dental school because i wasn't accepted into medical school. >> sean: but a mentor pushed him to try again. >> most of us when we either consider that we fail or something or are not accepted to something, the last thing we want to do is revisit that. but he pushed me to go on to medical school and i went to virginia for medical school. the more i learned about medicine and the more i became

i thought, i have to keep going further. so in medical school i flourished. i went to general surgery at johns hopkins and did plastic surgery at johns hopkins and then decided to go and do specialized training in taywan to learn how to connect blood vessels and nerves under a microscope and it just happened we were at wash in iraq and afghanistan. >> it was the injuries he was seeing on soldiers coming back from iraq and afghanistan that drove him to do facial reconstruction. >> that was the motivation. our face and our hands are the only part of our body that we cannot cover. they're exposed to the world. they're exposed to the world. medicine, despite the development of robotic arms, we don't have a solution for the face. and a lot of these soldiers that were basically maimed by ieds we did not have a solution. >> sean: when i would visit the troops in walter reed and then bethesda and i would see these massive injuries, and then i've had instances where i would follow cases, and the whole process of building out prosthetics, life-changing for

these men and women that thought they'd never walk again. >> and that was the motivation to create a better solution for the wounded warrior, and that's where it all began. and we felt, can we give them a new face, but not just soft tissue, can we replace the bones? can we replace the bones with the teeth? and can we replace the bones with the teeth and tongue and all face and connect all the nerves? it hadn't been done before we started and now look at where we are. it's a reality. >> and that new reality is changing and saving lives. s in 2015 dr. rodriguez, well, he pushed things even further performing the most extensive face transplant ever attempted. patrick was a volunteer fire fighter from mississippi. >> volunteer fireman. >> greatest job in the world. >> sean: you don't even get paid for it.

>> well you do what you love. >> sean: in 2001 he ran into a burning building to rescue a woman that was trapped inside. suddenly the burning roof collapsed directly onto patrick's head. >> roof collapsed on patrick knocking down his helmet. he felt the mask on his face was melting. >> sean: patrick held his breath. he jumped out of a window with he jumped out of a window with to his face. it claimed his h scalp, his nose, his lips, his ears his eyelids and all the skin on his face. >> i remember everything from getting in the ambulance to the helicopter. don't remember very much after that. >> sean: he was burned so badly that his fellow fire fighters couldn't even tell who it was. >> i had no idea who i had until we put him in the ambulance and he pulled it down over his face and had the picture with the kids.

that's when i knew who i had. i mean, it was a rotten dam day. >> sean: you said in an interview you would do it again tomorrow. >> yeah. i hate that i can't do it now. >> sean: this burning roof literally collapses on your head. it destroyed your eyelids, your lips, your ears, your nose. >> i can still talk. i mean, i can still communicate. i could -- i never thought it was as bad as what it was? even when my friends came up they would be all upset and i would be like, chill out, i got this. i never thought it was that bad. >> sean: when you looked in the mirror -- >> i didn't actually see myself until probably november. i got injured in september. probably november of that year they had cut a little pin hole 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? this.do, i said, this is it? >> sean: what do you mean you can't do this. >> well, it just, 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. >> sean: this injury follows you wherever you are. >> right, you never get a day off. it doesn't matter. ?you go to the ball field, you have to prepare yourself for the kid that goes running off screaming. >> sean: how painful is that? that's got to be painful. >> you never know. >> sean: and you're living with this for 14 years. >> i went to my eye doctor and he told me, he said basically we've done all we can do. i can't rebuild eyelids, i can't make them blink right. and a good friend of mine, they told me, he was driving me up to the doctor that day and on our way home and he said i'm going to look into the possibility of face transplant and he googled face transplants in the united states and it showed up in baltimore t that he had done one earlier and he e-mailed him and the next day they called.

i mean, it was just like, god sent like everything lined up as it should. >> open your mouth for me. okay. just relax let me feel your lips here. >> sean: even after 71 surgeries and skin grafts from his legs for 14 years patrick lived with what doctors described as pin hole vision.ck a mass of scar tissue was all that was left.in his eyelids, his lips, ears s nose, completely destroyed.. >> we've been evaluating patrick in new york at nyu, the entire face, ears, scalp, give rid of all the portions of the face that were burned in the fire and make him look normal. >> sean: with dr. rodriguez on board, patrick finally had hope but they still needed to find a donor. >> done a lot for him working

hard every day trying to get this transplant done so hopefully it's not much longer. >> get up in the morning and you think it's day to day, you know. just next day, it's the same way, just, it's how it is. so hopefully it will happen soon. it's in god's hands. so it will happen when he's ready for it to happen. i know he has an angel out there for me somewhere and one day hopefully when that day comes that family is drawn, because i could not imagine losing somebody at a young age and then having be asked to give what they're asking to give. >> sean: finally the call came. there a was a match. >> you have to tell them, this may not work. you may not survive this. >> most people know that i'm a very clear straightforward shooter and i tell them, this operation could kill you. i hate to use this phrasee because it is a so silly and cliche but you were willing to be the guinea pig.

you were willing to riskk your life. but you also knew that this would advance medical science. >> i never had any doubt.dv i mean, from day one i told dr. drodriguez, whatever it takes let's get it done. >> this gentleman has five children. and i need him to understand that this operation could kill you and you could leave your children without their father. >> sean: was there any hesitancy? >> no hesitation. on the morningonfatur of the opn with our entire team ready to go, i asked him once again patrick, are you sure you want to do this? i will call off the whole thing right now. i do not want you to feel bad about this. on all instances, no hesitation i need this. let's move forward. >> sean: what does it feel like for you? you're also in this game. you're not in medicine to use lives, you're in medicine to save lives.

>> and that's a lot of pressure. >> sean: a lot of pressure. >> no question.nd everybody's got a lot to lose in all of this, and i feel ultimately responsible if something bad happens. which things could happen that are out of control. habut there is that potential glory if we can achieve this, i think about the number of individuals that we could potentially help. >> you ready to go? how are you feeling? we're going to take care of you okay? >> sean: after 14 years ofom waiting, that moment has now arrived. dr. rodriguez and his massive medical team, they were about to attempt the most complex face transplant ever performed inhe history, a procedure that would last more than 26 hours. >> now it's go time. >> sean: when we come back inside patrick's ground breaking surgery. \m pain? salonpas contains the most prescribed

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>> welcome to fox news live. i'm lauren blanchard. in washington, tropical storm elsa taking aim at florida, expected to move into the keys tomorrow and then reach florida's central gulf coast by wednesday. the storm has lost a bit of steam after making landfall in cuba earlier today. it lashed some rural areas with heavy rain and strong winds. the capitol, havana, is expected to miss the brunt of the storm. ,,. k-w,, they saw widespread -- which punishes what it regards as subversion and collusion wit up to life in prison. critics of the law including western governments save they use it to crush dissent than th

former british colony. now back to hannity for all you headlines, -- headlines log onto fox news.com. >> sean: volunteer firefighter patrick hardison spent nearly 15 years with no face after being severely burned rescuing that woman from a fire. now he was about to undergo the most extensive face transplant ever attempted under the direction of dr. eduardo rodriguez. okay, now it's go time. how many people are in this room? >> for patrick's case it was close to 80 people in the rooms and it's two operating rooms working simultaneously, one from the donor room and one for patrick to receive the face. >> sean: let's talk about his condition when you first walk in this room. >> so patrick is in the operating room, we're broken up into recipient and donor team.

i'm in the donor room procuring the face for patrick. >> sean: why is it important that you be involved. >> in the donor room that's a highly pressured room because it's time sensitive. the patient can reach some time of instability so we have to be able to pull off organs, face hands, quickly. so that's a room that demands a certain level of attention but you have to move quickly.tt >> sean: and how long does that part of the procedure take? >> in patrick's case, thehe procuring and removal of the face, the dissection of all the nerves, that was a 12 hour dissection. which means we make the incision in the back of the head, start peeling the face, and then i have to find all the blood vessels, find all the little nerves. it's basically like an archeological site, you have to dust everything off and find all these little f cables, all these anatomical structures that are very thin, you can barely see them with a microscope. >> sean: not a lot of margin for error here. >> no. >> sean: none actually it sounds

like to me. >> yeah, a small error in that procurement in that dissection where you try secretary a nerve you didn't want to or you damage, it's not going to work. damage, it's not going to work. >> i mark with a pen around his neck, behind his ears,is all the way around his hair. the goal is to remove his entire face, and when that's removed you're just basically looking at barren skeleton and his eyeballs, no skin. the blood vessels of the neck are prepared and we've identified the key nerves we have to connect. i bring the face, so i basically transfer from the donoron room d recipient room and we finish off the rest of the 13 hours in patrick's room. i begin by connecting the blood vessels. we connect the blood vessels first, we want to minimize the ischemia time. the ischemia time is the amount of time the tissue isn't receiving oxygen, in this case blood. the longer the ischemia time the longer the rejection. it is a race to stop rejection

we want to connect as soon as possible. it's very precise and then you have to attach muscles bones, so you begin connecting the bones with plates and screws and then suturing and microscope and blood vessels and then you taylor of the skin. you want to make sure the eyelids align. you would also replace the ears you have to align the ear canal so you can hear normally. the nose has to be properly aligned so you can breathe normally. the lips, everything has to be properly tailored. >> sean: the amount of detail and intricacy is mindd numb to me. >> as soon as we connect the major artery, the carotid, our hearts, i imagine my heart rate's probably up throughout this whole process. once you connect the face and you see the face pink up, that's when i take a breath. >> sean: you see it. >> you can see it. >> sean: the face is alive again. >> it's alive again, it's alive

in patrick's body with patrick's blood. so that face is alive, it pinks up and you can feel the energy in the room from everyone because we are racing to that point. until that point we don't know what's going to happen. >> sean: what happened if you didn't get that flush? not successful. >> it can happen. in that case there are things we can try but notul something we want to face. >> sean: when we come back patrick begins life with a new face and his amazing transformation. plus: >> hold up the door. grab him, grab him. >> sean: the fiery crash shatters a young man's life in an instant and leaves him needing not just a new face but two new hands as well.

>> sean: 15 years after volunteer fire fighter patrick hardison was severely burned in hardison was severely burned in breaking 26-hour surgery to give him a new face. there was no guarantee at the time he would survive. but thankfully he did. >> today will be the first time that we're going to let him look at himself. we've been preparing him for this event, so a big day. >> here we go. give me your hand. and just turn that around and take a close look at it. do you see your hair growing? do you see your beard? good. you see how your lips are nice and normal? they used to be much more swollen than they are right now. >> sean: you come out of the surgery, you made it. how has your life transformed as a result of this? >> i mean, i've got -- it's slowly coming back. it's taken a lot longer than i'd

like, i'm again very impatient but i'm getting there. >> on a weekly basis, a different fireman that was with him at the time of injury comes up and spends time with him. we're getting there. doing fantastic. very excited to see all of it. >> hey, dad. >> even though we change their face, what makes a person is who they are.

their voice, their mannerisms, the person who they are.t and that's what we begin to recognize as a person, right? and you knew your dad without a normal face, and it's the same dad now with a normal face. and you've loved him the say way and you're going to continue to love him the say way and nothing will change. >> 93 days after surgery dr. rodriguez said patrick's doing really well. swelling continues to subside. for the first time in 14 years he's grown hair in his scalp and face and fully opened his lives and for the first time in their lives, patrick's youngest children saw their dad for the first time with a face. >> patrick's doing so well. from the day of the injury and where we are today, i've got pat back, the way he used to be before he got burned. >> our family was like not broken, but we were not your normal functioning family. we couldn't go out. we couldn't do things and they have given us back that family sense and for that i'm forever grateful. >> we were able to spend a

weekend with pat approximately his one year anniversary and i'll tell you it was a totally different trip compared to the first time we came. from the visit at the medical center, we went to the firehouse where he had another opportunity to spend time with his brethren who were with him on that day,e' and there's such an aura of happiness. >> i'm the same person i've always been. i'll always be that guy. nothing's changed me. i still have the same friends, i still do the same thing, i go to the same -- everything i do is the same. i will never look at myself as an overnight sensation, i'm just pat and will always be pat. >> i've bought my own place.e. i'm working on getting a house built. i'm working on a book. because i want to show the world that you can have hope. i wouldn't 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. >> here's an individual that's a survivor. yt he's essentially a hero although he doesn't want to be called a hero. the community and the amount of good will is palpable. >> sean: you do know that your courage is now going to help other people. >> i hope so. i mean, that's what i want to do. i want to help -- 22 veterans an day commit suicide. 97% of the people that have facial injuries as significant of mine commit suicide. and i understand that. but they also don't have hope. they're thinking, you know, i have to live like -- but you don't. there's hope for everyone out there has that type of injury. >> sean: up next, in the height of the global pandemic, dr. rodriguez and his team would attempt to break yet another barrier in the world of reconstructive surgery with a risky surgery that would be the first of its kind in the entire world. that and more coming up next on this special edition of hannity. . ♪♪ .

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>> sean: on an early july morning in 2018, 22-year-old joe dimeo was driving home after working the night shift. what happened next would change his life forever. >> anybody at the door? move out the door. grab him, grab him. >> sean: joe sadly fell asleep and drove into a pole. his car exploded and burst into flames. flames. samaritan and pulled from the wreckage but had third degree burns over 80% of his body. >> it's got to be torture for you guys. >> it was. >> was a phone call in the morning from where he worked p the lady called and she let out

a scream. she said, who was that? i said it's joe. he was in an accident. is he okay?as i said it doesn't sound good. >> he was in a medically induced coma for three straight months. the severe facial scarring left him with no lips, no eyelids. his fingertips had to be amputated leaving him unable to do everyday tasks and live a regular life. >> you have this horrible car accident, you don't remember, i would assume, right, at this point. >> no, i don't even remember going to work that night either. >> sean: so youha had all these skin graft surgeries. you had no lips, no eyelids. your fingertips had to be amputated as part of this. you needed help getting dressed in the morning. you needed help with just doing the basics in life. >> yeah, just everything. my mom hado to help me through a lot of things. it's not the right way to live. >> sean: that was hard for you

to have other people, to be dependent on them? >> yes, because i moved out at 18, had my own place and to have to move back in with my parents it's, you know, very hard, and plus i'm very independent. >> sean: two operations a i week for about four months. >> they said he's going to have to slow down, his body won't be able to take it. and they never did, he never did. he took all the operations. he recovered. you know, they said it was amazing. >> i have a colleague who works in new jersey, he's a plastic surgeon and he called me to let me know about a patient that he had been taking care of. he had had numerous operations probably over 20, of his face and his hands, and they began to entertain the possibility of a face transplant, or hand transplant. >> sean: dr. rodriguez visited >> sean: dr. rodriguez visited accident with him, and with his family. >> so the car's rolled over here. the guy jumps over and then. where did they pull you out? did they drag you?

>> sean: the only option to restore joe's quality of life was to consider a face and double hand transplant, something that had never been successfully done anywhere in the world. >> there had been other attempts did not work. >> correct. >> the other two face and hands the first in paris, face and double hand, the patient died in thes, hospital from complicatios infectious complications and there are a number of different reasons why that happened. the second patient was done in boston, the face survived but the hands failed. and when you look at our patients, it's almost like a lunar launch. you know, we don't -- we can try, but ultimately in these patients, we have one shot. so we have to think about everything carefully. >> sean: when you first heard about you would be the first w person in history to get a face and double hand transplant, i don't know if -- i'm trying to put myself in your shoes, i can't. i i would be thinking huh?

>> you just hit the nail on the head. we walked out of there, got to the parking lot. i stopped, i said, what did they just say in there? what are they talking about? hand transplant, face transplant. i said, where's this going, you know? but he was always independent had his own place, right out of high school got his own place got a job, had his own apartment, got his car. >> first time face transplant double hand transplant, you're his parents, but you also heard something else. >> he could die. >> sean: he may not survive that operation. >> that's all i heard. >> sean: that's all you heard. >> he says yes real fast. she says, well, if he wants to do it, then i'm with him. >> sean: and you said no. >> if god didn't take him on the table. >> sean: were you a no? a >> i was a no. dr. rodriguez asked, joe, you know, you might not make it. it's a dangerous operation.

and he says i want to do it. and then she says she wants to do it also. then he asks me. i says no. why not? i said, well, i want him safe. he's in the room. he's in the room, y he's watchig tv. >> sean: you don't want to lose your son. >> right.. he's safe. so the doctor asked him and says joe how do you feel about that. he said i don't want to be in aa room, i don't want to be in the house, i want to get my job back, i want to work, i want to go down the shore. all right, i'm on board now. >> sean: in october of 2019, joe was approved as a candidate and was placed on the transplant waiting list. >> where we take the skin from that's going to be close to the linear incision, okay, and you have a feeding tube tracheostomy and skin graft. the day that we do the operation he's going to have his own eyesight.

sound good? let's get it done. >> multiple life saving blood transfusions and skin operations had left joe's immune system highly sensitive with a very low chance of finding a compatible donor. >> he essentially had a 6% chance of identifying someone that would be a proper donor for him. that is very difficult to find. >> sean: and the donor at that point has to be a perfect match. it was over a year that he had been waiting. >> i had been to the best experts from my institution nyu langone to think what are the questions and then we rehearsed not just the technical. >> sean: that was fascinating to me that we do rehearsals. >> we begin in a simulation lab we actually practice, two teams real time. practice on weekends through the entire operation. we sequence the operation. because, sure, both these types of operations have failed, so we need to make sure that this is going to be a success.

>> keep in mind that we have to amputate an arm on joe which was somewhat functioning not perfect, and then put on a new arm. so that's high risk. >> you literally have three separate teams operating. >> right. >> sean: one on each hand and one on his face simultaneously. >> simultaneously. we go to the simulation lab then to the operating room and practice all this. >> sean: you find out you might have the practice match, you actually get on an airplane and fly down. here you're talking to a family that just lost a loved one and you're asking them, you know, would they consider this. and they were. >> uh-huh. >> sean: how did that go? >> these families. are remarkable, sean. you would be surprised. you know, to ask someone in the most difficult time of their life, they've lost their loved one, their son or daughter, askk them we'd like them to donate their face or their hands. >> sean: to save somebody else's

life. >> a match became available august 9th, you flew out to make sure it was the proper match. >> correct. we're ready to go and as soon as we're ready to go covid hits.. >> sean: when we come back trying to orchestrate one of the most complex surgeries ever also in the middle of a pandemic.c.

>> sean: march 11, 2020, the world health organization declares a global pandemic. march 20, 2020, governor cuomo of new york puts the state on pause. the team at nyu langone shift their efforts to help fight covid-19 but never lost sight of joe or finding him a donor. after nine months of waiting on

august the 9th, joe's ideal donor was found. >> we've been very fortunate to have a remarkable match. >> sean: you flew out the next day. >> right. >> sean: to make sure it was the proper match. >> correct.. >> sean: three days later the team was ready, the time was now. coming into the inner sanctum. >> these are sterile areas for these operating rooms. when you add to this, this is august of 2020, we're right in the height of the pandemic. >> yes. >> sean: so now, okay, this is a sterile area. you're in the middle of covid and you've got how many people in that operating room? >> right. we have two operating rooms, we have close to 90-something people between both places. we had, you know, we had to change our protocol, how we practiced, how we trained. we had to reuse our ppe. something we had never experienced, but we still had to perform this operation. >> today's going to be a great day. you know you're a great patient

so i want you to have positive thoughts, the team is ready to make this happen, we've trained. we know what to do. we're prepared for it, and let's go get 'em. let's go do it. >> see you later. >> take care. >> sean: all of this had to be hell for you. >> you know what -- >> sean: every bit of it, every step of the way.y. >> we know you're in good hands. >> sean: he says. >> let's go for it.ry no hesitation, no question. i tell him we're going to prepare the donor for you and i always tell him there may be the possibility i that i identify tt something's not right and i have to call it off. they all understand. s >> sean: because the odds are so low to begin with. there's 140 people involved in joe's case at one time. >> at one time. >> sean: now you have different teams, one team working on one. hand, another team on another n hand, another team working on the face transplant, all simultaneously. fascinating to me considering

it's so much more extensive.nt >> sure. >> sean: because of the progress you made with people like patrick, you were able to do it more quickly. >> yep. >> sean: fascinating. >> the tricky part was the arms, something we had no experience with, but we've been in this scenario. similar scenario, different territory. we rehearsed plenty of times. the arms are a little tricky because we have a lot of tissue. we have to attach 24 tendons three major nerves, six major blood vessels. m but we've created these sterile tags, so when we cut a nerve, we have to tag everything. it looks like the inside of a telephone wire, but everything is appropriate. in joe's case he's right hand dominate. it was important for him to have a normal right hand so he can work. work. the right hand from the donor room. >> sean: he had had the top of his fingers cut off. >> right, his fingers were basically here and they were like webs. they weren't functional.an

he wouldli grab things with his hands like this. he didn't have functional digits. we amputated his arm at forearm level. >> sean: can't go back. >> point of no return. at this point the right hand is ready to go we remove it everything's tagged, we flush it with a preservative the right hand goes into the room and we begin the connections. while we're working on that remain are, my team is moving on the right arm, we're still working on the left hand and the face. once they've reached about a 50% completion work on the rightwo hand, in joe's room, the bones r are connected, plates are screwed, the blood vessels are connected and then you start connecting sensors, tendons, flexors, everything to work in the hand normally once everything is looking healthy we move to the left. at this point the right hand connections and that team is reaching the conclusion is that the left hand is beginning the work. so now they're connecting the

left arm, bones, plates, nerves. once the right and the left look like they're in good shape, then we remove the face.e. we've been working for 23 hours it feels like we've been working for 23 minutes.s. there's so many things going on in your mind. you're not tired. >> sean: you're not tired. >> no, you're not tired, high on adrian little. we're going, been going for a couple days, keep going, going going. now i take the parents to see cc their child for the first time. always incredibly emotional for everyone, including myself. >> sean: sure. >> when the parents>> see their son, in the case of joe, it's hard to contain theou tears, se.

because they feel that their prayers have been answered. they really do feel. >> sean: a miracle. >> also he survived. >> sean: for the last 24 hours i know you probably communicate with them, but they don't know. >> it's emotional. when they're bringing their son into the hallway and they're kind of saying their final fair wells, that this may be the last time we see you. so when they see him alive on the other side, th, they are so- >> sean: after 45 days of inpatient care, well, joe was transferred to a rehab facility and his road to recovery began. 57 days later, joe was back int the world again. >> it went better than i ever expected. >> up, down. up. joe you know what we're doing today, we're going to liberate you let you look in the mirror. big smile. starting to move. isn't that great? open your mouth real wide. teeth. open your eyes real wide. >> i was so impressed when i first time i grabbed a five pound dumbbell and grabbed them independently and it required a pretty significant grip. my progress so far has gone really ahead of schedule, your honor, my motivation to get things done is really high up

there.f there's always a million ways to be happy and you always have to find the good in something and there's always a way to find something good in something like that. >> sean: and he continues to make amazing progress every single day.o >> before i couldn't move them at all. it couldn't even pick up a fork and to eat. i couldn't pick up a burger or a pizza. so now they're pretty, they're still pretty tight, but i can pick up anything. >> sean: so things that you were relying on your parents for, now you can do it again yourself. >> i'm slowly getting back to normal. >> sean: do you ever think that this is contributing, what you took a risk with your life, and that this will probably impact people many years from now? >> i feel like the veterans and stuff, i think it's going to impact them more because they

come home, you know, with missing arms and legs and. >> sean: it's hard. >> my surgery's a blueprint for them. >> sean: what is next for joe. >> gaining the strength in my hands and move out, get my job again. they want me back as soon as possible.th >> sean: they do want you back. >> i'm very close with them.s >> joe's future's very bright. i think for joe this operation transmits to independence and freedom. and the moreen independence that we can provide him, which is the case with his new hands and face, the happier he'll be. and you can see this in him. >> it is truly amazing and the possibilities are endless for the future of this cutting edge medicine. doctors like eduardo rodriguez they're able to not just save lives but give people a future and the life that once seemed impossible for them. that's all the time we have for this special edition of hannity. a very huge thank you to patrick

and joe, two of the bravest people i've ever met, as well as their families. as well as dr. rodriguez and everyone that worked to help save and improve the quality of life for many people that work at nyu langone medical center. i'm l laura: this is a special edition of the ingraham angle. as we celebrate america's independence we have to remember the biggest threat to our traditions and institutions are increasingly coming from within. critical race theory poisoning the highest levels of government, corporate board rooms, universities and even our kids tools. we are going to hear from parents who are fighting back including a black father who went