The field of transplant surgery has seems to be advancing rapidly in recent years, with the country’s first facial transplant having been a success in March. Surgeons are now able to transplant entire parts of the body in ways that would have been thought absurd 20 years ago.

Even more compelling than these ground-breaking reconstructive surgeries, however, are the stories of those pioneering patients who have braved the lengthy procedures, extensive physical therapy, and the risk of rejection to take another shot at living a normal life. Emily Fennell, California’s first hand transplant patient, is one of these people.

A 26-year-old single mother, Fennell lost her right hand to a car accident five years ago, when she was the passenger in a sideswiped car that rolled over. Her hand was mangled, and later amputated, when it went through the sunroof and was crushed between the car and the road. After getting out of the hospital, Fennell learned how to use her left hand for everything from writing to driving a car and everything in between.

After learning about hand transplant surgeries, she applied and was accepted to the hand transplant program at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She knew the risks of transplant surgery, which usually results in a lifelong dependence on powerful immunosuppressant medications, but she also knew that she was ready. She waited only a couple of weeks for a donor.

Fennell now attends physical therapy for eight hours a day, as she awaits the day when her nerve connections will grow to the extent that the new hand will have sensation and she will be able to fully accept it as hers. She lives in UCLA-sponsored housing while her daughter stays with relatives, and says that she can’t wait to hug her daughter “with both hands.”

Read about Hand Surgery in Westchester County, Scarsdale and Dobbs Ferry, NY