FANCY MOVES: Iraq War vet Brendan Marrocco of Staten Island fixes his hair using one of his new arms yesterday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. (Chad Rachman/New York Post)
Get out of this hero’s way!
A quadruple-amputee GI from Staten Island proudly showed off his two newly transplanted arms yesterday by using them to push his wheelchair into a press conference — then vowed to drive a car again.
“The arms feel great!” said beaming Iraq War vet Brendan Marrocco, 26, as he displayed his new limbs at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he underwent the extraordinary double transplant Dec. 18.
“It’s something I was waiting for for a long time.”
Marrocco used his arms and wrists to dramatically wheel his way out to greet reporters — and then used his left arm to scratch his nose and sweep his hair off his face.
“I just do it. I don’t even realize it anymore,” he said of his arm movement.
Marrocco does not have control over his hands yet because it will take months for his nerves to grow down to them along his arms.
“But we’ll get there,” insisted Marrocco, who was discharged from the hospital yesterday and faces six hours of rehab every day for the next several years.
In 2009, Marrocco became the first soldier in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to survive losing all four limbs when a roadside bomb exploded near him on Easter Sunday.
After his grueling 13-hour surgery last month, he became one of only seven people in the United States to have a double-arm or double-hand transplant.
The operation required connecting bones, blood vessels, muscles, tendons, nerves and skin between Marrocco and his new arms. The dead donor’s bone marrow also was transplanted to reduce Marrocco’s need for anti-rejection drugs.
The young Army vet said he originally explored the idea of a leg transplant, but was told the risks of complication were significantly greater than with new arms.
“Arms are certainly enough for me,” he said.
The avid NASCAR fan noted that he has a Dodge Charger SRT-8 waiting for him back at his Staten Island home after he eventually returns.
“I used to love to drive,” Marrocco said. “It was a lot of fun for me, and I look forward to that.”
Although previously right-handed, Marrocco has better use of his left arm because that side’s elbow survived the near-fatal bombing.
He said his new arms will aid him in learning to walk again with prosthetic legs. He also plans to take up hand-cycling and swimming.
Marrocco and his doctors wouldn’t release the identity of the donor or his family.
But, Marrocco said, “I’m humbled by their gift. They certainly changed my life, and I’m grateful.”