A former soldier suffered catastrophic injuries after risking his life to save a woman during a horrific car crash that left his face severely burned by electricity.
Mitch Hunter says his face was essentially “melted” after he was electrocuted while pulling a woman away from live power lines following a crash in 2001. He was just 21 at the time and later woke up in hospital barely recognizing himself.
Now 42 and living in Indianapolis, Indiana, Mitch says the best decision he ever made was undergoing a face transplant. He became one of the first people in the world to receive a full facial transplant — including a new nose, eyelids, facial muscles, and even facial hair — from a deceased donor.
A father of three, Mitch explained that his children were his main motivation.
“I didn’t want my kids to be bullied or excluded because of how I looked,” he said. “People would scream when they saw me. I couldn’t bear the thought of my children witnessing that.”
On the night of the accident, Mitch was a passenger in a car traveling along a highway in North Carolina when the driver lost control and crashed into a 10,000-volt electrical pylon. The driver’s girlfriend escaped the vehicle but was struck by a fallen live wire. Mitch pushed her to safety — but in doing so, completed an electrical circuit that sent a massive current through his body.
For nearly five minutes, electricity surged through him, mainly affecting his face, hands, and leg. He remained unconscious for 27 days and spent two months in hospital. The injuries were so severe that doctors were forced to amputate his leg below the knee.
Over the next decade, Mitch endured 67 reconstructive surgeries and more than 20 skin grafts. In 2011, he became only the second person in the U.S. to undergo a full face transplant — a procedure that lasted over 14 hours and involved more than 30 surgeons.
Today, Mitch has regained sensation, sports a full beard, and says he finally feels able to move forward. Remarkably, the beard he grows now once belonged to his donor — a detail he still finds surreal.
Despite everything, Mitch says he would make the same choice again. His act of bravery saved a life — even if it changed his own forever.
