Clinton Hill Cyclist's Face Gives Mississippi Firefighter A New Lease On Life

Image via New York Magazine.

Clinton Hill cyclist and bike mechanic David Rodebaugh died on August 12 after falling and hitting his head in a July 22 collision with a pedestrian on DeKalb Avenue near Franklin Avenue, but his face is living on as the new lease on life for a Mississippi firefighter whose own face was destroyed during a rescue attempt at a house fire back in September 2001.

The extensive face transplant took place at NYU Langone Medical Center in August — the first successful one of its kind in the United States — and is the subject of a rather touching and beautiful feature in this month’s issue of New York Magazine, which highlights the overlapping stories of Rodebaugh, firefighter Patrick Hardison, 41, and surgeon Eduardo Rodriguez.

Patrick Hardison, who received David Rodebaugh’s face. (Image via Hardison family.)

Rodebaugh, 26, is described as an “accomplished skateboarder, snowboarder, and BMX biker” and a “good wrench” and loyal friend who could never be restrained, and who moved from Ohio to Brooklyn in 2009, quickly finding a place in a “hard-core bike-messenger community.”

“We live by the bike. We ride hard as fuck. We own the streets. We are the streets,” said Al Lopez, whose one-man messenger company is called Cannonball Couriers. Lopez took to Rodebaugh immediately: “He was down. He was fun. He was smart. He was a bro.”

He worked as a bike mechanic at Red Lantern Bicycle and Cafe on Myrtle Avenue during the month before his death and, in 2014, won the Red Bull–sponsored Brooklyn Mini Drome on a steep course he had helped build.

“He knew everything and everybody. His stories were bigger than life,” said Brian Gluck, owner of the Red Lantern, a bike shop, café, and bar on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. Rodebaugh would casually mention that he’d raced cars and jumped out of a helicopter on a snowboard. Some sensed insecurity and wondered if he stretched the truth. But then the stories turned out to be true — at least, there usually seemed to be a detail or a person who lent credence to them. One thing was certain: Rodebaugh was a loyal friend. He would ride his bike three miles in the snow to help fix your car. He would stick up for you in a bar fight. Rodebaugh lost a front tooth defending Lopez once, and he never replaced the tooth. He couldn’t afford to but also seemed proud of it, evidence of his toughness. In a photo, a girlfriend with long dark hair lies next to him, her finger over the gap in his smile. Women were drawn to Rodebaugh. “He had a brute macho,” said Lopez. “He always had beautiful girlfriends.”

The magazine notes that although Rodebaugh’s face no longer is his or looks like its former person, it has thus far adapted well to Hardison’s head, although he could still face complications and so remains at NYU Langone for treatment and recovery. In the meantime, he has already gone clothes shopping at Macy’s and experienced the thrill of not having people stare at him with horror or disgust.

According to ABCNews.com and Nightline, Rodebaugh’s mother didn’t hesitate when asked about donating her son’s organs.

“She knew straight away. David would have done anything to help,” [LiveOnNY President/CEO Helen] Irving said. “She was told she could never have children and she had David and she felt very much that he was a miracle and that by doing this the miracle would continue.”