Ever for once wondered how it would be like to live without a body part? Without a limb for example. How much did you appreciate your wholeness in the few seconds after that, supposedly, unimaginable thought? Phew... right? Well, I get that sometimes,
especially when those cute little arab-haired children run up to me and ask for alms. Just as I look above their shoulders I see either their beleaguered-looking mother or father curved in an almost arch-like manner displaying an incomplete leg or arm. It sinks my heart. Imagine the roles being reversed and the little children are the ones needing arms(no pun intended). Imagine how their faces will light up if, just for one moment, they can have their limbs restored, that would be an almost irreplaceable feeling, right? Probably that is how Zion Harvey feels right now.
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| Zion Harvey |
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| Zion Harvey and mother, Pat. |
This cute and cuddly boy is 8years old. And if you're wondering why he has bandages around his arms that's because he just had a DOUBLE LIMB TRANSPLANT, that is, both his arms were replaced. No, not with prosthetics(artificial limbs) but real human arms. Yes, a donor gave it to him. This is the first of its kind for a child his age, although there have being older adults who have had the same procedure. The reason he had this operation done was because he was suffering from a condition called
Gangrene. A serious condition where a tissue doesn't get adequate blood supply and hence lead to the death of that tissue.
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| Gangrene affecting the toes. Photo credit: Wikipedia. |
In the case of Zion, the condition affected his legs, arms and kidney. His legs and arms were amputated, and had a kidney transplant with the mother providing a kidney for him to survive. His legs were replaced with prosthetics but his arms remained the same. Imagine what an 8 year old boy will be going through; watching his mates go to school, coming back with handwritten homeworks, playing sports... And the agony of not even being able to play video games! He's 8, he should be doing those!
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| Zion playing Table Football |
As events would turn, thank God, a donor surfaced after searching for a while and it was no surprise little Zion made the decision himself to go through with it, with the support of his mother. According to hospital records, it took 11 hours and a 40-membered health team to transplant the limbs; piecing every blood vessel together, one at a time. Trust me, that's a lot of work. It was a successful operation and this groundbreaking feat is being lauded all over the world, and deservedly so.
It will take sometime for him to utilize the arms in its fullest capacity, that would be expected given it's not originally his, so his brain will have to re-educate that area of his body. Not only was this little boy's limbs bridged, his dreams, aspirations, and the wholeness he now feels and experiences, were also bridged. Right now, he beams with a smile at the prospect of living ''whole''.
Source
Daily Mail.
