残疾退伍军人获双臂移植开启新生活

Double Arm Transplant Gives Former US Soldier a New Life

American John Peck lost his arms and legs in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2010. But unlike others who suffer such a loss, Peck does not have prosthetic arms.

Doctors instead performed a successful double arm transplant operation on Peck. The retired¹ Marine² Corps³ Sergeant⁴ is now learning to use his replacement⁵ arms at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

As Peck learns to use his new arms, he thinks about the family that donated the arms of their dead son.

“You know the first few minutes I was happy. But then I started to think about, you know, my emotions started to change, and it changed to the point where I was more...I was upset. Like I was, you know, I knew that somebody died and it wasn’t about me at that minute, it was about the individual that lost their lives.”

Transplant operations are not new, and many patients are helped by transplanted organs. John Peck says his situation is different.

“So like an organ transplant is different. Like, they cannot see inside of their body, but every day I look down, I'm like, 'Ah, hey! This is somebody else's hand or this is somebody else’s elbow that I am moving back and forth⁶.' But I don’t see it as, you know…it’s just weird⁷, just part of my norm now...”

Peck wore prosthetics before doctors gave him the replacement arms. The change has been hard, but physical therapists like Annemarie Orr says he is making progress.

“John and I have been working together for about, what is it, John? A year, a year and a half, and so the progress has been huge, I mean, in terms of the rate of motion in his arms and strength and his ability again, to be more independent with his daily activities…

Physical therapy assistant Alyssa Olsen is also working with Peck.

“In the time that we have started working together, we are pushing to, progressing to using his hands more and more and more, and he’s getting function back.

At Walter Reed, there are many patients who lost their arms or arms on the battlefield. Most receive prosthetics, but Peck agreed to try the transplant. Not everyone thinks transplants are a good idea because of the possibility that the body may reject another person’s limb. Patients like Peck must take up to 30 pills a day to stay healthy and stop medical complications.

“It was worth it, it was worth it to me. I have goals. I want to be independent. I want to be able to do things for myself.”

The operation took 16 hours and involved nearly 60 doctors and medical specialists. It has given John Peck a new life.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

transplant – v. to perform a medical operation in which a body part from one person is put into the body of another person

therapist – n. someone specializing in treating others with a physical or mental condition

complication – n. something that makes something harder to understand, explain, or deal with

prosthetic – adj. an artificial device that replaces a missing or injured body part

upset – adj. angry

elbow – n. the joint⁸ of an arm

function - n. the action for which something is used

pill – n. a small, rounded object that contains medicines or vitamins

complication – n. a secondary disease or condition developing at the same time as the central health problem

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。