Transcripts For WPVI Nightline 20170519

And you were up for the fight . Well yeah. When you put it that way it was like, that i get. So i said yes. Reporter the instinct to fight, something instilled in him as a young boy. Mesmerized by the movie about a tenacious boxer, an underdog named rocky. My dad took me to a drivein movie when i was 11 years old and we saw rocky. From that moment forward i just knew it was inside of me way more than i had ever thought before that day. You took rocky as gospel. It is the gospel. First of all, he didnt win. Rocky didnt win. People dont really think about that. Its about doing the work. Its about putting everything you have into it. If you just literally do your best at everything, thats really awe you can do. Reporter after his neardeath experience he wokenewfwi a appreciation formportaious memory of seeing jennifer the first time you came out of the coma . I wanted to marry her. Thats the truth. We were reporter thea last 2 1 2 weeks. The damage severe. His body had shut off oxygen to his outer limbs to preserve his organs. His hands and feet were starting to necrosis and gangrene setting in. What doer hands . It feels like somebodys holding a bic lighter underneath my fingertips all day, every day. Reporter doctors wanted to amputate but jennifer intervened. When they came and said we want to amputate i immediately said, absolutely not. Reporter she began searching for other options. And eventually stumbled upon the possibility of a hand transplant. Turns out ucla boasts pioneering hand transplant research. Only 85 have ever been attempted globally. And a worldrenowned hand surgeon, dr. Cody azari, had been scouring the world for his next patient. I was looking for someone that was motivated that was healthy, and had not had his amputations done. Reporter because jennifer had made the critical decision not to have jonathans hand amputated, he became the perfect candidate for dr. Azari. Why go through all these surgeries . Why not just go with a process thet nick. When you of that transplantation they oftentimes put you through psychiatric exercises. One of the questions is why do you want another hand . And i thought, well i mean, you have two. You know . I think the worlds built for two. And i can handle it. Reporter dr. Azari and his team began the process by amputating jonathans left hand, preserving his nerves and blood vessels for the eventual transplant. But dr. Azari also told him to get stronger and healthier. He was also gauging something else. What did you size up about his mental toughness . His mental toughness was what actually got me to fall in love with his personality. He is an Eternal Optimist like ive never seen before. Reporter but the Eternal Optimist faced a grim reality, that his right leg could not be saved. That was an extraordinarily painful moment. She was crying with me. It was a real get it out cry. The admission that we have lost that battle was really tough for both of us. Reporter he may have been missing a leg, a hand, all of his fingers and toes. But just like his rocky, even in defeat come reporter jonathan kept fighting in order to qualify for that hand transplant. The first milestone . Oh my god. Reporter learning to walk with his new prosthetic. Step dont want to fa i walking a big smile o it was a heartwarming, chilling just almost incomprehensible. Thats about as big a rocky get. Reporter within months hed have an even bigger moment. S hero. Finally, jonathan wasthat hand buttal thetransplant. Das your wedding day our weddingt. It was really noneventful, which is the way we wanted it to be. Gas really a 30second ceremony it was joyous and happy. We really didnt want anything to change. After we got married, we got something to eat like we always do. Reporter their honeymoon period involved waiting for the ideal donor. You need to match for size you need to match for color, you need to match for hair pattern. Reporter it took seven months to get the call. How are you feeling your hand transplant surgery . Very peaceful. And hopeful that everything goes well. Reporter and then the complex suery. 24 attendants. Countless nerve endings, veins arteries. Microscopically stitched together. Hand transplants are marathon surgeries because theres so many structures that need to be repaired. Nerves are like coaxial cables. Except t to red, ellow to yellow connection. You have to figure out how they fit within each other so that the parts of the nerve that are for sensation match up and the parts of the n that are for motor function match up. Initial fears are that the vessels are going to clot and blood is not going to move through the hand. Theres no margin for error . Theres no margin for error. Reporter even if the surgery is a success, will he be able to control his new we come back. Enough enough laxatives to cover the eastern seaboard. Ive climbed a Mount Everest of fiber. avo if youve had enough tell your doctor what youve tried and how long youve from laxatives. Irelieve your belly pain, and lets you have more frequent and complete bowel movements that are easier to pass. Do not give linzess to children less than six, har get immediate help if you develop unusual ly with bloody or black stools. The most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. Ifop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. Other side effects include gas stomacharea pain and swelling. Talk to your doctor about managing your symptoms proactively with linzess. dog mmm. This new beneful grain free is so healthy. Oh farmraised chicken thats good chicken. Hm . Her wow. And spinach that was my favorite bite so far. avo new beneful grain free. In with thl. We cant stay here why . Terrible toilet paper ill never get clean way ahead of you. N ultrstrong. Its four times stronger and you can use less. Enjoy the go with charmin. Just press clean and let roomba from irobot help with your everyday m roomba navigates your entire home. Cleaning up pet hair and debris for up to 2 hours. Which means your floors are always clean. You and roomba, from irobot. Better. Together. At red lobsters seafood trios you dont have to choose just one thing. Choose your trio with any 3 of 9 selections for 15. 99. Like new creamy lobster pasta toasted parmesan shrimp and southernstyle crab cakes. Come create your trio before it ends. Jonathan koch was a hollywood heavyweight who barely escaped death. Having lost his leg, about to lose a hand he turned to a pioneering procedure, a human hand transplant. Could his dreams once again be within reach . After a marathon 17hour surgery, Jonathan Koch emerging with a new left hand. Its jennifers birthday when i got out of surgery. And she said, i just want one thing. I just want you to move one of your fingers. And i didnt think there was any chance i could. But i thought about it. And it moved. Thats amazing. For the rest of the day, any time anybody came into the room doctor nurses Friends Family hes go haaay as soon as we walked into jonathans room he gives me the thumbsup like the fonz used to do. Right . This guy, hes absolutely perfect. Reporter dr. Azari also thought the surgery was perfect. The team of 24 nurses and doctors from competing hospitals successfully attaching the donor hand to jonathans. Doc, will i be able to play the peon know after surgery . Reporter the recovery was far more treacherous than hed anticipated. What was the toughest part for you of the transplant . I woke up my mind wasnt right. I wasnt breathing as well as everybody wanted me to. I was telling jennifer im drifting away. I cant seem to get back, i cant get back into my life in control of whats happening with me. It sounds like thats the first time selfdoubt crept into your mind. Yeah. All the work that i had done since getting home working out in my wheelchair trying to crawl up and down the stairs on my elbows and knees all those things i did to rebuild myself they came right back into play. Having to try to make sense of the hand transplant. Reporter but ever the fighter, jonathan soldiered on. One weekend hes gripping a tennis ball and throwing it. Next thing you know he picks up a glass of water and he takes a drink and he goes, aah you feel fierce and powerful. You just do. So when i grabbed that bottle and i was able to hold it even though it was pretty shaky, i feel fierce and powerful this is an incredible feeling. Reporter movement by movement, grip by grip. Soon thrilling milestones left him giddy. Jonathan has met or in the vast majority of cases exceeded all of my expectations. I told him, jonathan its going to take you maybe a year and a half to two years before you can tie your shoelaces. At two months he sends me a video of him tying his shoelaces. Reporter the total cost . Estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Covered not by insurance but by ucla in the name of research which could end up helping so many others. This feels good. I bet it does. It does. Reporter now within reach, moments like learning to drive again. All right, here we go. Whoa. Were out of here. On the open road. Yeah. It really did liberate him. Now he has the confidence and is ready to drive again. Couldnt tie his shoe before now he can do that. He couldnt button things before. It just helps, you know with hygiene, taking care of himself in that way. Was it worth it . All the pain the rehab, the everything for the transplant . It was 100 worth it. Id do it again. I would tell anybody to do it. You cant imagine the change in my life as i regain my independence. Reporter hes just now begun to regain a sense of temperature, differentiating between hot and cold. And even bigger triumphs. It was his dream to play tennis again with his daughter ariana. Variety, swinging a racket with his newly acquired left hand. What does tennis represent to you . I just love the competition. Theres nothing more than i like to do than to go play as hard as i can and as well as i can and when its over with no matter what happens, you know its been an incredible experience. And once in a while you catch lightning in a bottle in a tennis match. Oh there you go. And its everything you have. And i love that. How good have you gotten with your new hand . Im not great. You know im learning to youre saying i have a chance . You definitely have a chance. Lefthanded, it hasnt been going great. I throw my racket sometimes accidentally because im still working on that. I do too. Its not as give all as i thought it was going to be, its just going to take repetition. Oh i thought i was out of here. Thanks juju good play. Any other things youve been working on . Reporter now the man many described as a hardchanneling workaholic, a man whose life was roadmaped by a hollywood movie, looking for other stories. Its great, we should crack some of those. Reporter including his own, to inspire others. Good to see you, always. Good to see you, thank you. If your life story or this last chapter were in a pitch meeting to you what kind of story is it . A triumph over adversity story . A love story . You can name it all. Its a triumph of the human story spirit. Not just my standpoint but our standpoint and all my friends who rallied so hard. Just the amount of love and prayers and all those things that were coming to me that i could actually feel them. I felt lifted up by them. I know how many people were caring about me. Seven, eight, nine my girls fierce. Reporter the next chapter of this story now left in jonathans capable hand. Five six, seven, eight, nine beauty. Good job, dude. Well be back. 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Nexium 24hr is the 1 choice of doctors and pharmacists for their own frequent heartburn. For all day and all night protection. Banish the burn. With nexium 24hr. Introducing new depend silhouette briefs. Featuring a comfortable sleek fit. As a dancer, ive learned you cant have any doubts. Because looking good on stage is one thing. But real confidence comes from feeling good out there. Get a free sample at depend. Com. Can a toothpaste do everything well . This clean was like pow my teeth are glowing. They are so white. Step 1 cleans. Step 2 whitens. Crest [hd]. 6x cleaning 6x whitening i would switch to crest [hd] over what i was using before. Hey, need fast heartburn relief . Try cool mint zantac. It releases a cooling sensatio n in your mouth and throat. Zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. Nexium can take 24 hours. Try cool mint z antac. No pill relieves heartburn faster. As we say good night, a special thanks to Jonathan Koch and his entire family. To dr. Cody azari and his team at ucla. And of course tonight our thoughts are with all those perfect donor to change their lives. Thanks for joining us. As always were online at abcnews. Com. And our Nightline Facebook page. Good n you know, theres a famous saying its not what you know. Its who you know. But whoever said that clearly never watched this show. This is who wants to be a millionaire. [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] hey, everybody. Welcome to the show. You guys ready to play millionaire today . [cheers and applause] all right. Our returning contestant is here because of one person his mother. And she will be really happy tons away from a million dollease welcome back alex fumelli. [cheers and applause] how you doing, man . Good. Good to see you again, alex. [cheers and applause] hes back, and hes got a Million Dollars in his sights. Um, we talked a little bit about your mom and how she got you here figuratively and literally. She signed you up. Thats right. She was gonna do it. One day, she was watching the show, decided, i know who would be good at thismy son alex. Andand so she went online which is amazing, by the way si said, hey, you have an auditiongo. Yep, thats pretty much it. I showed up at the studio. You know, because it wasnt my own idea. Right. And i just sort of ran up there at the last minute,cooler, calmer more collected than i wouldve been. Right. Uh, it may have helped me. You had nothing to lose. Youre like, yeah, whatever. This is just fun. [laughs] ut really well, because you have found