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Joe DiMeo poses for a portrait at NYU Langone Health in New York, six months after an extremely rare double hand and face transplant.
Almost six months after a rare face and hands transplant, Joe DiMeo is relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze. The 22-year-old New Jersey resident had the operation last August, two years after being badly burned in a car crash. âI knew it would be baby steps all the way,â DiMeo told The Associated Press. âYouâve got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And youâve got to stay strong through everything.â
AP
Joe DiMeo whistles softly at NYU Langone Health in New York, six months after an extremely rare double hand and face transplant.
AP
Joe DiMeo poses for a portrait at NYU Langone Health in New York, six months after an extremely rare double hand and face transplant.
AP
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez has Joe DiMeo demonstrate the flexibility in his new hands, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 at NYU Langone Health in New York.
AP
Joe DiMeo, right, demonstrates the flexibility in his fingers for Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 at NYU Langone Health in New York.
AP
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez has Joe DiMeo demonstrate the flexibility and strength in his hands, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 at NYU Langone Health in New York, six months after an extremely rare double hand and face transplant.
DiMeo said he wanted to one day meet his donor’s family.
“I’m grateful for them to give this gift to me. I don’t know how to thank someone that gives you a second chance at life,” he added.
Joe before the horrific car accident (Image: NYU Langone)
The 22-year-old fell asleep at the wheel of his car after working a night shift in 2018.
The vehicle blew up, and he was pulled from the wreckage.
The explosion left DiMeo with third-degree burns over 80 per cent of his body.
He spent the next four months in a New Jersey hospital’s burn unit, including more than two months in a medically induced coma.
Learning how to smile, live with new face, hands
Marion Renault
New York Almost six months after a rare face and hands transplant, Joe DiMeo is relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze.
The 22-year-old New Jersey resident had the operation last August, two years after being badly burned in a car crash.
“I knew it would be baby steps all the way,” DiMeo told The Associated Press. “You’ve got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And you’ve got to stay strong through everything.”
Experts say it appears the surgery at NYU Langone Health was a success, but warn it’ll take some time to say for sure.
Almost six months after a rare face and hands transplant, Joe DiMeo is relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze.
The 22-year-old New Jersey resident had the operation last August, two years after being badly burned in a car crash.
“I knew it would be baby steps all the way,” he told the Associated Press. “You’ve got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And you’ve got to stay strong through everything.”
Joe DiMeo exercises at NYU Langone Health (Mark Lennihan/AP)
Experts say it appears the surgery at NYU Langone Health in New York City was a success, but warn it will take some time to say for sure.