Hand transplant man to tackle shoelaces
THE first person in the UK to have a double hand transplant says writing a letter to thank his surgeon has been one of the highlights of his first nine months since the pioneering operation, as well as being able to clap the achievements of his favourite rugby league team.
Chris King, 57, described how he has got his life back since the surgery in July last year, when he became the second person to have a hand transplant at the UK’s specialist centre for the operation at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and the first to have both hands replaced.
Mr King demonstrated how he can now do a range of tasks, including writing, making a cup of tea and gardening as he progresses even faster than his surgeon anticipated.
He said he is improving every week, and his next aims are to tie his own shoelaces and button up his shirt. He said he has already cracked undoing them.
Looking at his hands, Mr King said: “They are my boys, they really are.”
He said: “It’s been going fantastically. I can make a fist, I can hold a pen, I can do more or less the same functions as I could with my original hands. I’m getting back to the full Chris again.”
Mr King lost both his hands, except the thumbs, in an accident involving a metal pressing machine at his work in Doncaster four years ago.