The Incident
In June 2021, James was driving from his home in Arkansas to a new job on an elevated bucket near Tulsa, Oklahoma, assisting in the transfer of a new electrical pole when he was hit in the face with a live wire.
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He was hit with a shock of more than 7,000 volts of electricity that blew his thumb off and burned his body inside out.
The Resulting Injuries
As a result of the incident, he experienced strokes, kidney failure, burns on his gums, and loss of his left eye, nose, and parts of his face.
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In the immediate aftermath, he had seven teeth removed and had his left arm amputated at the mid-humerus bone. James was forced to eat and breath through a tube while he regained the ability to walk.
The Emotional Devastation
Although it might sound shallow to some, James had difficulty adjusting to his new normal. He says that when he went out in public, he would wear a mask to cover his face as he felt he would scare people with his startling injuries.
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He was also trying to hide from himself, telling PEOPLE magazine, “I didn’t want that to be my face. I didn’t care to see it.”
Poor Prognosis
The devastating injuries that James sustained in the accident meant that he was knocking on death’s door before he was stabilized in hospital.
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“Doctors truly did not know,” says his wife Meagan, 39. “They were like, ‘He’ll never eat the same, he’ll probably never talk. He could possibly not come off the ventilator.’”
The Groundbreaking Surgery
A study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that detailed the fascinating 21-hour surgery in May 2023. James received an entirely new face and eyeball from a donor.
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Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, the chairman and professor of plastic surgery at NYU Langone Health, said “The goal for us was to have him blend in and be another face in the crowd. The results are phenomenal. He looks fantastic and it’s functioning really well.”
A Life-Changing Surgery
Now, the National Guard Veteran says, “Without doctor’s appointments, we’re kind of lost. Now we’re getting some downtime and we’re like, ‘What do we do?'”
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The medical treatment gave him a new lease on life and newfound freedom released from expensive and time-consuming doctor’s visits that took over his life for the past three years.
James Is Finally Healed
The first-of-its-kind surgery took roughly 15 months for the swelling to go down completely and for James to see his new face.
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Today, Aaron says, “I feel great. I’m probably as close to normal as what I’ve ever been.” He also says that he’s most excited to finally eat savory foods like salads, popcorn, and his mom’s Mexican chicken recipe after years on a liquid diet.
Proud of His New Face
Although James will never look the same that he did prior to the accident, he’s now happy to show his face in public, “it’s freeing for him to put the mask down,” his wife shared.
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“He just looks like he has some scars and his eye is closed because of an accident, which it is.”
Experimental Eye Transplant
The one thing that isn’t working perfectly since the surgery is the experimental eye transplant.
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Doctors will continue to monitor his progress, but as of now, the eye still does not have any vision capabilities. The good news is that his body has not rejected the eye, which bodes well for future surgeries.
Hope For Future Eye Transplant Recipients
Although James’s eye transplant was not a total success, the fact that the eye held and was not rejected by the body is fascinating for the medical community.
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In the future, his case can be used as a starting point for similar surgeries and eye transplants. Hopefully, with the progress made during the 2023 surgery, doctors can have even more success in the future and transplant a fully working eyeball.
Doctors Look Forward to the Future
Dr. Rodriguez shares that, “We have to recognize that nothing like this has ever been performed. No one thought that it’s physically possible,” says Rodriguez, who led the transplant team of 140. “Experts in the field thought the eye would shrivel up like a raisin and die.”
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Thankfully, the hardworking medical team was able to make sure “the eyeball is viable, it has blood flow, it’s maintained its pressure.” Now, James is excited to live a full life after his near-death experience with a face that’s just a little different.