Mum is first woman in UK to get double hand transplant
Revolutionary op gives Tania life back
A MUM has told of her joy at becoming the first British woman to have a double hand transplant.
Tania Jackson lost both the limbs and most of her left arm after being struck by sepsis that almost killed her. She made a remarkable recovery but feared she would have to wear prosthetics for life.
But thanks to revolutionary transplant surgery, the 42-year-old has her independence back.
Mum-of-three Tania said: “It is just the normal things I am looking forward to most, being able to brush my daughters’ hair and hold their hands.
“It is just the things that you take for granted. Getting your money out of your purse. The little things. I am so excited for the future.”
Tania, of Hull, suffered multiple limb loss in 2015 after her ulcerative colitis worsened and caused sepsis. Husband Andrew, 40, was told to prepare for the worst. He said: “Her limbs had started to turn black. I didn’t know if she was going to live or die.”
Tania’s condition deteriorated so badly surgeons had to amputate her hands and three-quarters of her left arm. While recovering she saw a TV show on Corinne Hutton, the first woman on the hand transplant register. Tania went on the list in 2016. After a long wait due to difficulties finding donors, she had the 15-hour operation at Leeds General Infirmary in September.
Plastic surgeon Professor Simon Kay carried it out. In the same week, he operated on Manchester traffic accident victim John-Paul McGrail, 36, who had an arm and hand transplant.
Only five hand transplants have been carried out in the UK since 2012. The first single one was on Mark Cahill from Halifax. In 2016, Chris King had the first double hand transplant.