I’ll be able to open Christmas presents on my own after the gift of a miracle hand transplant… and help prepare the festive feast too, says quadruple amputee
A quadruple amputee is looking forward to being able to open his own Christmas presents later this year after receiving the ‘gift’ of a hand transplant.
Kim Smith, 64, had her hands and legs amputated after contracting an infection and developing sepsis while on holiday in Alicante, Spain, in 2017.
He was later put on the waiting list in the UK for a double hand transplant and received a new, working left hand this year.
Kim, a former hairdresser from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, said: ‘This year I’ll be able to help prepare Boxing Day and open my own Christmas presents.
‘Christmas is a time when you all come together. I can’t wait to be with my family and make something with my hands.
‘It would have been boring for me before. I used to have to sit back and let others do it. Before the amputations, the whole family would come here and eat together.
‘I am now much more independent than before. That’s incredible.”
Kim and her family are dining at their favorite restaurant on Christmas Day, but they’re also getting into the festive spirit.
Kim Smith, from Milton Keynes, has had four amputations and is looking forward to her first Christmas with her new hand after transplant
Earlier this year, Kim was given the gift of working on her left hand after she was placed on the UK waiting list for a double hand transplant.
Although he was previously right-side dominant, Kim is now naturally left-handed.
She added: ‘My husband Steve bought me a new designer bag and I’m looking forward to getting that and a new bag too.
‘We’re going shopping to buy me new wedding and engagement rings since my new hand is a little bigger.
‘The rings I’m currently wearing are from Claire’s accessories as I was warned my hands might swell.
‘I take it at regular intervals every day. I used my blow dry brush for the first time this month.
‘I picked it up and thought, ‘Oh my God, I can really do this.’ ‘There are a lot of firsts right now.’ Kim initially underwent a 14-hour double hand transplant operation, but unfortunately the operation on his right hand was not successful.
Although he was previously right-side dominant, he has now become naturally left-handed.
Kim is an ambassador for Sepsis Research FEAT and a volunteer for the UK Sepsis Trust. He said: ‘Sepsis either kills you, leaves you as a quadruple amputee, or
At the very least, it leaves you with post-sepsis syndrome.
‘It is vital that we raise awareness so everyone knows they need to seek treatment as soon as possible.
‘I didn’t know your family would be asked for their consent to donate your limb, even if we were automatically included in the donation. It is very important for people to talk to their families and express their wishes. My family knows that if they can use anything from me, they can have it.
‘Raising awareness of sepsis saved me from my dark depression because I could see that people were listening and I knew I was helping.’
Kim urges people to be aware of sepsis symptoms and the donation process.
He added: ‘If you were dying and needed a liver or a heart, you would ask for donation.
‘If your life is about to end, let someone else take your organs and keep you alive. ‘If limbs could be donated too, it would change the life of someone like me.’
