Soldier with rare double-arm transplant amazed - Los Angeles Local News, Weather, and Traffic

Soldier with rare double-arm transplant amazed

Posted: Updated:
Brendan Marrocco (center) Brendan Marrocco (center)
Brendan Marrocco Brendan Marrocco
Brendan Marrocco Brendan Marrocco
  • Viral Stories

  • Friday, May 17 2013 11:26 PM EDT2013-05-18 03:26:33 GMT
    A Prince William County man says he was suspected by Walmart security of possibly kidnapping his three young daughters -- all because they aren't the same race. Joseph and his wife Keana are an interracial couple. They have been married for nearly 10 years and have three daughters.
    A Prince William County man says he was suspected by Walmart security of possibly kidnapping his three young daughters -- all because they aren't the same race. Joseph and his wife Keana are an interracial couple. They have been married for nearly 10 years and have three daughters.
  • A House committee chairman wants to know whether a retired diplomat who helped lead an independent review of the attack against the U.S. in Benghazi, Libya, will agree to be interviewed by committee investigators.
    Then CIA-Director David Petraeus objected to the final talking points the Obama administration used after the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, because he wanted to see more details revealed to the...
  • Tuesday, May 14 2013 6:41 PM EDT2013-05-14 22:41:11 GMT
    Remember the ‘UFO' that motorists spotted along D.C. highways back in June? FOX 5 got an up-close look at the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System!
    Remember the ‘UFO' that motorists spotted along D.C. highways back in June? FOX 5 got an up-close look at the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System!
BALTIMORE -

Twenty-six-year-old Brendan Marrocco lost all four limbs in an explosion while serving in Iraq.

"I hated not having arms. I was alright with not having legs," says Marrocco.

Six weeks ago, he had a double arm transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

"Only six other patients have undergone a successful double hand transplant in the U.S. and Brendan's surgery was the most extensive and complicated arm transplant performed," says Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee.

Sixteen doctors and a host of other medical professionals helped to connect the blood vessels, muscles, nerves and skin of his arms and the donated one. Right now, Marrocco can move his elbow and rotate one arm.

He has no feeling or movement in the hands yet, but says "We'll get there".

"I never really accepted the fact that I didn't have arms, so now that I have them again it's almost like it never happened. It's like I went back four years and I'm me again," says Marrocco.

His house on Staten Island is being cleaned up from the floods of Hurricane Sandy. But his Dodge Charger is still waiting for him.

"I used to love to drive. It was a lot of fun for me. I am really looking forward to getting back to that," says Marrocco.

His proud mom looks forward to his homecoming. "Just surviving and moving forward, he shows the world, you can do anything," says Michelle Marrocco.

The nerves in Marrocco's arms will regenerate at a rate of one inch per month. It'll be 2 or 3 years until he reaches his maximum mobility.

Along the way, he'll be thinking of the anonymous donor and that person's family. "I'm humbled by their gift. They're certainly changing my life and thank you," says Marrocco.

Powered by WorldNow

KTTV FOX 11
1999 S. Bundy Dr.
Los Angeles CA 90025

Main: (310) 584-2000
News Tips? (310) 584-2025

Didn't find what you were looking for?
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Fox Television Stations, Inc. and Worldnow. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices