It is an interesting story that tells us of the amazing advancements made in medical sciences and is fascinating for its sheer humanity. This story involves an Afghan soldier, a family from Kerala and a team of extraordinary Indian doctors. It is about a brain dead person giving a stranger a whole new lease on life.
How Abdul Rahim got new hands
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Abdul Rahim was a captain in the Afghan army when he lost both his hands trying to defuse a mine which literally blew up in his face. After the bomb tore off the lower parts of both his arms, he searched for possible solutions by approaching several hospitals. Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre in Kochi, Kerala is where he finally found hope.
T Joseph was a brain dead accident victim who, during his lifetime had expressed his wish to donate his body parts/organs to help others. In an act of stunning generosity, T Joseph’s wife Fransisca and daughter Aleesha consented to the Afghan soldier receiving a dual hand transplant.
A medical marvel
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A team of 20 doctors and 8 anesthetists performed a 15 hour long marathon operation that seems like something out of a sci-fi film. They attached two bones, two arteries, four veins and as many as 14 tendons from one human to another to give Abdul Rahim new hands. According to Dr Subramania Iyer, the hospital’s Professor and Head of the Plastic Surgery department, this would give the organ recipient considerable function in both his hands for day to day activities following some months of physiotherapy.
A story about the triumph of humanity
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After about a month of physiotherapy, Abdul Rahim was able to perform simple tasks. He can now hold a glass of water and drink; he can write holding a pen and can use a mobile phone. For their part, the family of T Joseph has the satisfaction of knowing that a small part of their beloved husband/father lives on in someone else. The hands that once held them, loved them and comforted them have literally given another human being a brand new lease in life.
Stories such as this make a nonsense of narrow parochial views that seek to exclude and separate based on national, religious or regional identities. These are the stories that give us faith that it is humanity that must triumph in the end.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
