A man who was the recipient of the first successful face and hand transplant once talked about the horrific car accident that resulted in him receiving the surgery.

Six years ago, in July 2018, Joe DiMeo suffered life-changing injuries in a car crash after he fell asleep at the wheel of his car while driving home after a night shift.

His Dodge Challenger During the crash, he hit the pavement, rolled over and burst into flames, and the man was injured before people could reach him and save him from the burning car.

He suffered severe burns to most of his body, but survived a facial and double hand transplant after a 23-hour treatment in August 2020. operation inside new York where the chances of survival are slim.

Joe said he was ‘ready for the transplant when it was offered to me’ because he ‘didn’t want to live the way I did’.

Joe DiMeo has found love since becoming the first person to receive a successful hand and face transplant, and it looks like the wedding is imminent. (Instagram/joeroydimeo)

Speaking about the car crash, Joe said: “My car went off the side of the road, hit the pavement, rolled over a few times and then caught fire.

“There was a mod that scraped the pavement, which created a spark, then the oil pan cracked from the impact, and then they created a flame.

“I was 80 percent burned. They had to cut off my fingertips down to the second knuckle, and then they had to stitch up my eyelids because they were burned. It was like I was looking through a wire fence.”

He added that he was to get better The aftermath was ‘super difficult’ and for the first two weeks he couldn’t even move his fingers, so hospital staff had to move his fingers instead so he could exercise his muscle memory.

He stated that after the accident he “lost many fake friends” but also learned who he could really trust, adding, “You understand who your real friends are and you value them more.”

Joe and his fiancée Jessica first bonded over their love of dogs. (Instagram/joeroydimeo)

Joe knows that his donor was a 48-year-old stroke survivor who died two days before surgery, and that his life has had some major turning points since then.

He was contacted social media It was made by a woman named Jessica Koby and they soon bonded over their love of dogs.

Things seem to be going very well between the two because They both recently released the news of their engagement to each other, Joe says ‘big things are going to happen on December 5th,’ and Koby writes, ‘I think I’m the right person Joe asked and I said yes.’

He also said he ‘didn’t expect it’ to marry‘, it looks like there are exciting times ahead for Joe and Jessica.