surgical team ready to restore one man's face. a family's tragic loss and jen ross is the ray of hope this family's been fighting for. but the odds of survival, 50/50. his first look in the mirror and the tearful family reunion 15 14 years in the making. a hero's homecoming and pat's second chance to smile. >> this special edition of

be right back. this is a special edition of "nightline." "brave face." good evening. thanks for joining us. tonight another look inside a medical marvel. an unprecedented and in many ways unbelievable full-face transplant. it's the story of a heroic firefighter, his face burned in a rescue mission. a bmx biker whose generosity of spirit makes it possible. and the top-notch surgeon on the frontier of modern medicine. three remarkable men whose lives are now forever linked. i got to sit down with the recipient, pat hartisob, and his transformation took my breath away. in a city where people will do almost anything to stand out, pat hartison just wants to blend in. >> it's really unbelievable all the stuff that you see in new york.

because they could shop forever. >> reporter: a loving father of five from mississqppi who for 14 years now has hidden behind a hat and sunglasses. >> i'm going to have you take off your hat. >> reporter: that rest on prosthetic ears. >> take off your ear forth me for a second. let's see how these are doing. >> reporter: pat's come to nyu medical center to undergo the most extensionve face transplant er attempted. a medical team led by eduardo rodriguez has been preparing for this unprecedented surgery for three years. >> this is a graphic image but it gives you an understanding of removed. >> reporter: he warns pat the painstaking procedure to remove his scar tissued face and kill him. just 50/50. >> the reality is we can make you much worse than you are now. and if t ts were n n to work, we've actually madee you worse than you were before. this, right?

>> reporter: it's a risk pat is more than willing to take. because for more than a decade pat's lived with the scars, both physical and mental, from the fire that turnburned off his face. >> a day just like every other fire. >> reporter: 2001, pat was a volunteer fireman responding to a house fire. he rushed headlong into the flames to rescue a woman believev to be inside. >> went in for a lady. >> nobody was spre she was at home. me and pat were in the bedroom. everything kind of fell apart. >> i can't remember. i just remember the ceiling collapsed. like i could see everything coming down. >> reporter: pat's face was burned so badly the other firefighters didn't know it was him until they loaded him into the many plans. >> they pulled me down and he said, take care of christie and the kids. that's when i knew who i had. >> we closed the door on that

the last time i'd ever see him alive. >> when i came back home i was a totally different person. >> reporter: pat spent 63 days in the hospital recovering from burns that robbed him of his scalp, ear and nose. his eyelid and lips also gone. when he got home his young children were terrified. >> the first time i realized what he had gone through was the first time i saw him. >> reporter: alison, pat's oldest daughter, was just 6 at the time. >> and i remember going up to the house and my mom and stepdad literally had to drag me in the house because i was scared. >> reporter: over time his devastated family adjusted. >> to us he became normal. he looked normal. we didn't think anything of it. >> reporter: ever the family man, he went on to have two more children. but inside, he was struggling. the guy once known as life of the party became withdrawn, depressed, and began abusing his pain medication. his friends felt helpless.

it's even harder for him to hear and accept it as the truth. >> reporter: he endured months of surgeries. doctors were able to apox mate a mouth, nose, and lips, facing those ears. >> look to the left. look to the right. >> reporter: but there was nothing they could did about hisis missing eyelids. thout them pat would go blind. >> he went through 50, 60, 70 surgeries over a period of three, four, five years. i can't imagine what it does to you mentally. >> reporter: he was eager to do whatever it took to get his life back. hopes now pinned on a trail blazing surgeon. >> there are a lot of pieces that have to come together. >> reporter: in the emerging field of face transplants. >> did he need this surgery in the traditional sense? >> no. he could have stayed this way as long as he would have lived. however, pat was not living, by

>> for patients like that it's important for us to slow the process down and ensure that they completely understand what they're getting into. >> these are great photographs. >>eporter: dr. rodriguez need the to manage pat and his family's expectations. >> what if we do the surgery and everything is reasonanay succesesul, but your expectations are not met? >> i'll be better than what i am today. i'm not saying it would be like i was. you know. 2001. i'm sayi, get me back normal-looking as you can. >> reporter: nyu langhorn medical center would cover the million-dollar procedure in the name of research. >> i break down about it. i knew it was something he would want to make him feel what woo would call normal again. >> reporter: but they needed the perfect donor. the wait wasas excruciating. >> day by day, get up every morning, you think is today the day?

>> he told me he didn't know if he wanted to keep living. we prayed about it. and here we are getting the surgery. yeah, it was tough. >> reporter: only possible through a twist of fate that would forever link pat to a man he would never meet. >> dave was without a doubt like the best guy you never met. >> reporter: his name was dave rodebaugh, 26-year-old bike mechanic who lived in brooklyn, new york. dave lov to ride. he won this red bull-sponsored race last year. dave was fatally injured biking home from work. his tight-knit group of friends memorializing him with a ghost bike at the scene of his accident. dave's mom there for the tribute. dave matched every criteria pat and his doctors hadad been waiting for.r. age, hair, skinn color,r, blood type, even skeletal measurements. when dave what's mom was asked if she'd donate his organs she didn't hesitate. >> she knew straight away david uld have done anything to help.

have children and she had david and she felt very much that he was the miracle and that by doing this the miracle would continue. >> reporter: dave was the perfect donor and his kidneys, liver and heart would save four other lives. >> the man thatt got his heart? i'd like to meet him and be like, i'd like you to know that you have a lion's heart. >> feel good? >> reporter: a quick hug from his sister and pat's wheeled into the o.r. dr. rodriguez's plan? remove what's left of pat's scarred face and scalp and replace them with donor tissue, muscles, nerves. the donor's body in the room next door where another surgical team takes a moment to reflect before surgery. >> may we now take aoment to honor the life of david rode rodebaugh. >> reporter: some of the footage

the doctor works on the donor, every step finely choreographed with the team next door. >> watches are synchronized, the teams ready to go. >> reporter: the donor's face is slowly and delicately removed, perfectly timed and in sequence. they now begin removing pat's face. >> there's constant communication. they do not compromiseehe scalp until can give confifiation the scalp is viable. they do not take the eyelids until they know i've reached the point of no return because we have to keep pat safe. i keep an eye on the clock at all times to know that we're on track with every step of our operation. >> reporter: eight hours later pat's face, which was mostly scar tissue, has been removed. >> when you take someone's entire face off, you're essentially looking at raw tissue. the muscles, the facial expression, the eyeballs are essentially exposed. >> reporter: pat is just a few feet away from his new face. the transplant can finally begin.

my mind, are we able to deliver this? we've got one chance to basically land this on the moon perfectly. >> reporter: when "nightline" returns. my sister raves about her toothpaste and mouthwash all the time. i'm like, huh? aren't they all the same? you know, i had to see for myself. so i went pro.

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how wear doing? >> reporter: halfway through the most ambitious face transplant surgrgy ever attempted doctors have removed the donor's face. a warning, some of the footage is graphic. former firefighter pat haddison is lying on the operating table next door, his now-exposed face ready for the transplant. >> about when we remove the face and start going into the other room it's like starting a whole new operation. >> everybody ready? >> yeah. >> yep. >> reporter: lead surgeon dr. eduardo rodriguez positions the face. he now must quickly get blood circulating to it before the tissue starts to die. it's been without blood flow for almost three hours. >> until the face becomes pink my heart's racing. >> reporter: it's an intricate process stitching together the

then within seconds -- pat's heart is pumping blood into his new face. >> the entire face, the scalp, the ears, everything, is pink. so at this point i'm feeling pretty good. but i know that we still have a lot more work ahead of us. . >> reporter: the surgical teamworks straight through the night. we stabilizezehe remaining portions of the skeleton, we stabilize the inside lining of the mouth, we secure the eyelids are now we begin to inset the back of the scalp. >> reporter: anchoring bones, nerves, muscles, before securing the outer skin. the final sutures in place 26 hours after the surgery began. >> congratulations, everyone. excellent job today. >> when the surgery was over, what went through your mind? >> now you start thinking about what's going to happen? >> ironically, now you've entered the danger zone. >> correct. >> reporter: infection is the main concern. pat's immune system is compromised b the anti-rejection medications he'll

nine days after surgery, pat is finally out of bed but has yet to see his new face. dr. rodriguez worries his new appearance could frighten him. >> are you nervous? no, not at all? do you have any idea what to expect? what it's going to look like? so here we go. here. give me your hand. ahead and just turn that around. just take a close look at it. let me see a gauze. >> reporter: he takes in his new reflection for the very first time. >> can you see your hair growing? can you see your beard? >> reporter: his handsxploring strange yet familiar features hee thought he'd never have again. >> what do you think about the ear, this is great, right? how great is that? >> reporter: pat's recovery is remarkable. after nearly three months his new face taking shape over his own bone structure, his brow and

sitting with him face-to-face 87 days after surgery, his scars hidden just under his collar, a 41-year-old man with a 26-year-old face. how are you feeling? >> i feel good. >> how much feeling do you have now in your face in your head? >> there's some -- here now has still got a ws to go. the swelling and the feeling. but everying else, it's coming along. >> reporter: we were finally able to ask him directly why he was willing to risk everything. >> i never thought like that, the risk of dying, that never scared me. because there are things in life that are way worse than death. >> there are t tngs in life way worse than death? >> yeah. i hadad lived likikthat for 14 years. >> reporter: even though the speed of his recovery surprises doctors, the frustrating first few weeks post-surgery tests his limits. >> you had to relearn to

relearn to talk. >> i told the doctor rodriguez in the beginning, i said, you do your part, i'll do mine. >> because of this operation was so extensive, wee did harm his swallowing mechanism. >> wait a minute, don't go now, don't go now. we've had this discussion for a year now. we're just going to keep working. it's so much better. >> reporter: pat spends hours every day training. >> deep breaths. you know what to do. >> reporter: fighting for every hint of facial expression. >> those muscles from the donor, they do not have any functional input the nerves are not connected. but the muscles are perfectly aligned wh pat's face. his muscles willpower the new face. >> and smile. >> reporter: doctors say he'll get better at smiling, winking,

pat's already overwhelmed by the transformation. >> it's very emotional. >> what is that emotion? is that just -- >> i guess what they call happy tears. >> happy tears? >> i've beenn upset so much over the last 14 years. because i've had to face it every day. then now it's like -- people see you. >> there's nothing like being just a face in the crowd. >> that's all gram. another face in the crowd. >> what's been the hardest part of all of this? >> being away from my kids. >> being away from your kids? >> love you. >> love you. >> love you, miss you. >> reporter: his kids back in mississippi have yet to see a picture of their dad. shielding them until he's ready. >> pack mustard from new york.

>> excited about being dad? >> yes. >> scared, anxious? >> yes. >> excited? >> yes. >> reporter: they're getting ready to visit him. >> we're currently descending into new york. >> reporter: pat's nervous about how they'll react when they see his new face for the first time. >> i'm going to knock o othe dooror >> reporter: when "nightline" returns. i sure had a lot on my mind when i got out of the hospital after a dvt blood clot. what about my family? my li'l buddy? and what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital but i wondered if this was the right treatment for me. then my doctor told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots, but eliquiuialso had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. knowing eliquis had both... turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to.

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pat haddison's kids haven't seen their dad in two months. after receiving the most ambitious face transplant ever he's kept his new appearance id hidden from them as he's healed. >> seeing my kids. nothing better than that. >> reporter: finally it's time to meet face-to-face. >> hey, dad. >> see? look. >> reporter: after an emotional embrace, they can't help but stare at their dad's new features.

life now coming into focus. >> i'm looking forward to getting my vision fixed hopefully and loading those kids up and taking them on a vacation to disney world or somewhere, just me, my kids, and the stuff that we missed out on. >> you missed out on a lot of their childhood. >> i did. i hate that. we're fixing to catch u now, though. >> reporter: six weeks later, reunited again as he returns home to mississippi. >> one, two, three. let me take a couple. >> reporter: a parade for a hometown hero. but h reserves that honor for the man who made it possible, his donor. >> he's the hero. he's the one.

>> you're getting emotional. >> it's emotional when you think about it. that donor and his family gave me this gift. and i can never thank them enough for giving me something as great as this. something i thought i would never have. >> our deepest gratitude to nyu nggold medical center and to pat and his entire family, all the best. thanks for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" by tomorrow. as always we're online 24/7 on our "nightline" facebook page and abcnews.com.

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