For anyone who missed yesterday’s big story, please watch the emotional video (via CBS)of Iraq War veteran, Sgt. Brendan Marrocco of New York, who was the first-ever recipient of bilateral arm transplants.
Sgt. Marrocco, now 26, was on patrol in Iraq in 2009, when his vehicle was destroyed by an IED, or more likely, what was then called an EFP (Explosively Formed Penetrator); an advanced IED imported from Iran or Syria and meant to be lethal to U.S. troops.
Having survived the initial explosion, Sgt. Marrocco was the first quadruple amputee of that deadly war.
As seen in the news clip, Marrocco describes his willingness to live without his legs but not his arms.
There were heroes on both sides of the operating tables last month when Sgt. Marrocco underwent the groundbreaking surgery that attached arms from an unidentified donor. The team of sixteen physicians and dozens of nurses and technicians at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine was led by Plastic and Reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Andrew Lee.
Marrocco now faces years of occupational and physical therapy to gain strength and dexterity.
Examiner’s Note: For many of us, this re-attachment surgery is nothing short of a scene from an old Sci-fi movie; a man made whole by body-parts of another. Advancements in medical technology is mind boggling.
Let it be noted that this surgery would not have been possible if medics in the field had not been there to save Sgt. Marrocco’s life on that horrific day.
A personal shout-out to some medics and corpsmen who went the extra mile for their brothers and sisters on the battlefield: Brett Phillips, Steve Holden, Sheldon Chatman, Luke Alphonso, Richard Shaw, William Verble, Tim LaPrairie, Bernie Copeland, Sean Reed, Mitchell Brooks, Johnalexis Cereme, and so many others I don’t know! Thank you!
The National Military Examiner publishes military and military-related content from around the world that often misses mainstream media, including all troop losses.
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