Transcripts For WPVI Nightline 20160421

Allergy, they wont. Six a greater than one. Flonase out performs other allergy nightline, pushing the limits. Good evening. Thank you for joining us. Its been said the human spirit is the Strongest Force there is. Youre about to meet a woman who had it all. It all changed. And then a surgery gives her a new dream. Now we have the story of one remarkable woman pushing the limits. Lindsay ess a woman in her early 30s is a new bee to cross fit. In cross fit, teams that have space for athletes who look like this and like this also include athletes who have experienced severe injuries, and even lost limbs. Like lindsey. But heres the thing about her that you might not be able to see. Its not just her legs that are, so to speak, borrowed. Whats not obvious to the naked eye is that her hands, too, are a gift from someone else. A gift she had not yet received when we first met her six years ago. When this and this were part of her reality. The most common questions i get are how do you type and how do you text so fast. Its just, like, chicken picking. It was only in her mid 20s that she lost both her legs and both her arms. Before that growing up she was always one of the pretty girls. She even did some modelling. As a 24yearold fresh out of college, lindsey had her eyes on a career producing fashion shows. You were on your way . Yes. I would say that was my dreams as far as being an excellent student and was wellrespected were definitely coming true. But then she got sick. A block in her small intestine from crohns surgery. There was surgery an something went wrong, an infection that shut down her entire body. To save her life, doctors had to put her in a coma. When she came out of it a month later still in a haze i knew there was something wrong with my hands and feet. I would look down and i would see black almost, like, a body that had decomposed. The infection turned her extremities into dead tissue. There was a period of time where they didnt tell me they had to amputate but somebody from the staff said oh, honey, you know what theyre going to do to your hands, right . That was when i knew. Never night she found herself profoundly disabled. You dont have your hands now. Or my feet. Or your feet. What are the challenges . The challenges are independence, lack of control. Getting her prosthetic legs on always required help from her mom who basically had moved back into her daughters kwliervegs back to the kind of care that would have been their connection 20 years earlier. Lindsey discovered a lot of things about herself that she did better emotionally by not focusing on the life that was gone, that she hates needing so much help. I cant wait to brush my own hair. Im such an independent person. But then again im also grateful that i have a mother like that. I mean, what would i do . I want her to be able to, you know, touch me just the way that i touch her. She also learned that while she could adjust to the prosthetic legs, the arms were too heavy. These prosthetics are [ bleep ]. I cant do anything with them. You cant do anything behind your heavy. Theyre heavy. Theyre made for men. Theyre not feminine. They have claws. She realized so much of our independence, our heighty, even, is in our hands. Ive accepted the fact that my feet are gone. Thats acceptable to me. My hands, is not. Its still not in my dreams, i always have my hands. Then she learned doctors had begun having success tra transplanting hands. In december 2009, lindsey had just started meeting with a transplant specialist who was willing to try the rare procedure of giving lindsey new real hands from a donor. Will i be able to go behind yeah. Hopefully youll be doing your hair. Lindsey worked out diligently, all part of the commitment she made to qualify for the transplant. Have you fall snn. Yeah. You have to fall and go through pain in order to achieve other things. Shes tough in these moments working her body like this y. But back in her apartment she talks about her body and what she sees now in a different way. People used to turn and look at me when i walked down the street because of how beautiful i was. Now they turn and look at me because im in a wheelchair and i have no hands or feet. What that has told her. What does it matter what my hair looks like . What does it matter what im wearing so much . But hands, they matter. Not just as much as before. More. I try to defie what everybody else says is impossible. They said i wasnt going to live. They said i wasnt going to walk. Im going to walk. They said i wont have any hands. Im going to have my hands. Four months later, april 2011, i pay a visit to the doctor at the university of pennsylvania who talked about how complex a surgery lindsey signed on for. The hookup of the new hand is relying on her nerves growing into the new muscles from the donor. The nerves have to grow into those muscles which takes months, it can take a year. So you may or may not get truly functioning hands back. We tell patients, we can fail you. The operation can fail. Whats failure . That means the part doesnt survive and we have to reamputate the transplant. The preferred donor is a female with hands the right size and skin that matched. They had to wait for parts to become part. That was the part she found most difficult about the unnamed donor that everyone was waiting for. I hate thinking about that. Why . Because. I just do. Yes. Somebody out there is alive. You hate thinking about it because it means that person has to die . Uhhuh. I think that whomever the hands will be, will be carried out with purpose. Theyre not just going to be used for to look pretty. September, 2011. My spirits are pretty good. Weve been waiting for this for a long time. After four years without hands and a month on the waiting list, its happened. Someone died and her hands are being delivered to the doctor who has phoned lindsey telling her to get to philadelphia immedia immediately. What did he say . Theres a do mor for you. Speed was critical. The surgery had to start within hours. The first thing we did was we prayed for the family who lost their young daughter. And then it begins. When we come back, lindseys long journey from hospital bed to cross fit and her attempt to lift that massive barbell in competition. Ull ask what backache . What sore wrist . What headache . What bad shoulder . Advil makes pain a distant memory. Nothing works faster stronger or longer than advil its the worlds 1 choice. What pain . Advil. My bladder leakage made me feel like i couldnt be the father that i wanted to be. Now i use depend. I can move the way i really want. Unlike the bargain brand, new depend fitflex underwear is now more flexible to move with you. Reconnect with the life youve been missing. Get a free sample at depend. Com. Reconthe eclass hasife yodriverassist systems. It recognizes pedestrians and alerts you. Warns you about incoming crosstraffic. Cameras and radar detect dangers you dont. And it can even stop by itself. So in this crash test, one things missing a crash. The 2016 eclass. Now receive up to a 3,000 spring bonus on the e350 sport sedan. What aremaking a cake ht now . Ayla reminds me of like a master chef and emiana reminds me of like a monster chef. Uh oh. I dont see cake, i just see mess. Its like awful. It feels like i am not actually cleaning it up whats that make mommy do . doorbell whats that . Swiffer wetjet. So much stuff coming up. This is amazing woah. Wow. Now i feel more like making a mess is part of growing up. Stop cleaning. Start swiffering. Try cool mint zantac. Hey, need fast heartburn relief . It releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. Zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. Nexium can take 24 hours. Try cool mint zantac. No pill relieves heartburn faster. Reporter were inside the conduct edge operation to give lindsey two new hands. Its september, 2011. Separate skin, separate muscle biopsy. Reporter two separate taems working at once, one dedicated to the left hand, the other on the right. After 11 1 2 hours the surgery comes to an end. Hours later lindsey wakes up with someone elses hands, now hers. Have you looked yet . No. Okay. Ive only looked, peeked down at this one thumb. They feel like normal fingers, you know, normal hands. Reporter the initial signs are good. This is more we could ever hope for. Her Blood Pressure is good. The parameters are good related to the blood flow in and out of her new arms. This is a picture perfect course so for. Reporter ahead for lindsey were months of therapy, none of it easy. Its easier as im going. Are you helping me . No, youre doing that. Each repetition should get easier because youre getting looser. How many is this . This is only number two. Reporter as lindsey becomes acquainted with her new hands, tell me about when you first actually saw them, that they were yours. Actually, the first couple days i didnt, i refused to look at them. Reporter how come . It was kind of like one of those scary movie kind of moments. You know, thats all it was. It was just like one of those im too scared to look because its reality. Reporter but its not a perfect reality. The surgeon had to leave pouchs of fat and sin kin on her arms. The skin color is never going to be the same of the lower arms to your upper arms. That will always be that way . Its hard for me to answer questions like that. Im just so grateful to have them, for them to not match is to me reporter beside the point . Yeah. Reporter four months after surgery, lindseys doctors are amazed by the pace of her recover. They didnt expect fine motor control for another 12 to 18 months, but. To see this, this is encouraging. Reporter her muscles are reacting and she can pick up lightweight objects. Finally she goes home with her prognosis Getting Better and better all the time. Look add your extension. Thats incredible. Reporter nine months after the surgery. Straighten these out if you can. Squeeze them. Reporter they could sense hot and cold. A tingling sensation that bothers her, nevertheless, indicates that nerves are growing back. The therapy continues. The dark pigment in her hands is fading away. Excess skin and fat has been removed all ahead of schedule. Its a muscle. And then if youll let my pinky go too, i can move these two and at the same time you see reporter and a year and a half after the surgery, theres one small thing she told us she aspired to do herself. I cant wait to brush my own hair. Reporter well, here it is. These are your hands now. They feel like your hands to you . Reporter i feel like theyre zsh. I feel like theyre a gift, and theyre always going to be a gift. I mean, you can say that theyre mine, but and they are mine, but theyre still a gift. Thats much better. Reporter we continued paying visits to lindsey, watching her get back the thinks she wanted most, her independence. Just a few days ago when we visited, it was clear that she is making the most of her new hands. Reporter how have you been . Very good. Reporter how are you hands . Hands are great. Im still learning a lot with them. Something different every day. Reporter it seems like an obvious question, but you do feel a great more independence than you did . Yes. Reporter completely different . Completely different. I mean, im 100 different. Yeah. I mean, i drive. I live on my own. I have a dog. A house. To take care of cleaning, dishes, you know. Reporter its all you and youre doing it yourself . I would like it to be all me, but some things are like i cant put my hair up or button blouses or jeans, tie shoes. You know, if i have to do changing of shoes or i want my hair a specific way, then my mom helps me, but and im not doing too well at cooking yet. Reporter and now she has found cross fit which she loves. Youre a pretty competitive person. Yeah. To a fault. Reporter and you have this thing for taking on hard challenges. Yeah. Reporter talk about hard. It has been hours and hours of workouts and specialized training. If you dont take chances in life, big chances, then big things arent going to happen, so its been working so far for me. Im not going to just stop now. Reporter which brings us back to the moment of the lift, this was at a competition in arizona where lindsey worked through the physical challenges as a member of her team which is called the some assembly requirrequir required team. Her goal was to pull 73 pounds with one arm in a dead lift. Imagine lifting it with arms that arent yours that are attached by rods and sewn with stitches. Reporter she was struck by a funny thought. I love that scene. Reporter this one. Hes going for a clean and jerk of over 1500 pounds. Reporter from a saturday night life years back. Shes getting ready to dead lift and his arms rip off. And blood is everywhere. And hes talking while its spraying blood. Its funny. Every time i lift, i think about that. Theyre never going to do that. But its funny to me to think about. Reporter there is no risk of that happening here. These hands are toettleztally ad to you. Theyre not going to give. Never say never, but i have faith that they wont. Reporter and so lindsey went out onto the competition floor. An event honoring wounded veterans, athletes competing against each other regardless of disability, and look at how her hands served her. Rowing, lifting, one exercise after the other. At the dead lift with the weight of 55 pounds, the clock defeated her. She could not get it done on time, and she left without the victory she wanted. The wheelchair one and the first one. Still got 7th. Reporter well, not exactly. Just because she could, lindsey stayed late and decided to try again to lift a weight shed never tried before. Load it up show told her spotter, it rose, 85 pounds with one hand, and a personal record. I didnt want to leave until i did that. Reporter and you did . And i did. Reporter because thats lindsay ess taking her world in hand and taking it to the max. For nignightline. Wow. Our thanks to john for that inspiring story. And next, the money milestone for an American Hero who pushed many limits of her own. Take on the unexpected. The new 2016 nissan altima. Built to stand out. R. On every plate and were about to keep it going. Yeah, youve got one more week to try the largest variety of lobster dishes of the year. Like lobster lovers dream. And new dueling lobster tails. This party cant last so hurry in. whispers rocket ya know, viagra helps guys get and keep an erection. Talk to your doctor about viagra. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension. Your Blood Pressure could drop to an unsafe level. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. Stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. Ask your doctor about viagra. Who took on slavery takes over the 20 dollar bill. Move over, Andrew Jackson, theres a few face in town and shes money. Today announced Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the 20 bill. Hes an American Hero helping hundreds of slaves escape to freedom. The new bill is set to be designed by 2020, the hundredth anniversary of womens suffrage. She once said every dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach the stars. To change the world