Maryland Boy's Inspirational Recovery From Double Hand Transplant

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An 8-year-old Maryland boy was the first child in the world to get two new hands in July 2015.

"When I was 2, I had to get my hands cut off because I was sick," explains Zion Harvey, of Baltimore County.

The procedure, the first-ever bi-lateral hand transplant on a child, was done at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It's many miles away from his home, but it's the place where his life changed forever.

"When I get these hands, I will be proud of what hands I get," Zion said, pre-surgery.

The grueling, intricate 10-hour operation involved a 40-person team of nurses, doctors and surgeons.

The team was divided into four working groups. Two focused on the donor's hands, two on Zion's. The bones were connected, then the arteries and veins. And when blood began to flow, the muscles were repaired one by one. Finally, the nerves were reattached: the moment of truth.

The surgery was a success.

For Zion, the road to recovery was paved with rigorous therapy several times a day at the Kennedy Krieger Institute back in Baltimore.

"He was seen five days a week for three hours of occupational therapy a day for 10 months," according to a therapist there.

A year later, the 9-year-old returned to Philadelphia, and WJZ was there for the exciting and emotional "hospital homecoming."

"He's been making progress every single month when I see him... he's continued to exceed our expectations," Dr. Benjamin Chang told WJZ's Marcus Washington.

A beaming Zion, now 9 years old, sat next to his mother, Pattie Ray, and his team of doctors, sharing his extraordinary progress and hard work with the world.

They all agree, a huge part of Zion's success was his amazing personality.

"You just have to believe in what you want to do," he said. "Because you could do it."

These days, Zion is unstoppable. His new hands are getting stronger. He even threw out the first pitch at an Orioles game this summer.

And he's already got a new goal in mind.

"Convince mom to let me play football!" he said.

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