SPECIAL REPORT: El Pasoan to undergo groundbreaking surgery with hope of regaining independence

Courage, determination and optimism are all qualities that allow people to triumph in the face of adversity.

Reggie Cook exemplifies these attributes. On Friday, Cook and a group of surgeons will try to make medical history.

He will undergo an elbow-to-elbow transplant in San Francisco, California, the first surgery of its kind. “I have a second chance at life, so I’m taking it,” said an excited Cook. “I’m jumping on it so I can be independent.”

In January 2009, Cook’s life changed in an instant when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed. He was on his way home after a long night at work.

Cook was in a coma for months and credits his sister and daughter for bringing him back from the abyss. “My sister played a recording of my daughter and my eye moved and two days later I woke up,” Reggie said.

He awoke from his coma only to face a new nightmare. He suffered brain trauma and was nearly left a quadriplegic. “I have been like a puzzle with hip surgeries, five surgeries in my foot, and 14 bones broken in my neck,” Cook said.

“I have to have a nurse come to my house every day to help me change, shower, use the restroom, make me something to eat,” Cook explained. “I wasn’t born disabled, I became disabled.”

“His left arm just hangs there, it’s of no use. His right arm (is frozen at a 90 degrees angle). He can’t brush his teet, he can’t reach behind, he has no use of that right arm,” said Dr. Eric Sides, the orthopedic surgeon trying to help Cook regain his independence.

“He can only get around by shuttling his legs around in a wheelchair,” Sides said, as he explained Cook also suffers from the partial paralysis of his legs.

At first, Cook constantly asked himself, “why me?” He soon overcame the deep depression holding him back. “That doesn’t get you nowhere,” he said.

With the help of physical therapy, Cook has regained some use of his legs. He also replaced his right shoulder with an artificial elbow joint. It didn’t work.

“It became inflamed. He developed a hematoma and an infection,” Dr. Sides said. “Mr. Cook has no elbow (on his right arm). It functions with a brace.”

Cook told ABC-7 he is ready for the life-changing procedure, the first of its kind. In fact, he is the one who came up with the idea.

“You know, (my left arm) is paralyzed, so I asked the doctor if we could possibly use the elbow from (my left arm) and a light went on in his head.”

Cook suggested surgeons cut off his limp left arm, remove its still-functioning elbow, then transplant it to his right arm.

“He’s at a point where we’ve tried all the traditional things and so what he’s going to embark on is something brand new,” said Dr. Kevin Sandberg, a physiatrist who has worked with Cook for years. “I have no doubt he’s going to improve. The question is: how much is he going to improve?”

Sandberg explained Cook has good movement in his right hand. The hope is the elbow transplant will help him regain control of the entire arm.

“With the right team of surgeons, we should be able to essentially remove the left arm, take its elbow, with its blood supply, so that it will represent a ‘vascular alive’ graft,” said Sides, who sought input from Dr. Lisa Lattanza, the Chief of Hand, Elbow and Upper Extremity Surgery at the University of California at San Francisco’s Medical Center.

Lattanza and Sides agreed to move forward with the groundbreaking surgery. Sides will travel with Cook to San Francisco. “I have put a lot of trust in them and Dr. Sides and I are going on a journey,” said Cook.

Lattanza and a team of surgeons will perform the 6-to-12 hour surgery. They are currently practicing on cadavers.

Cook said he has no regrets about sacrificing his left arm to regain his independence. “I’m 38 and I live with my sister. She is part of my family, but she has a husband and a child and I don’t want to be a burden. I want to have my own life.”

While he understands he will never play basketball or dance again, he’s still excited about the possibilities. “I still have a lot left in me,” Cook said.

Both Sides and Cook acknowledged having doubts about the surgery.

“The worst case scenario is he’ll up with what he has right now: nothing lost, but nothing gained,” Dr. Sides said. “That left arm is non-functional, in fact, he’s asked me before if I could just cut that arm off and I always refused. It’s interesting that it’s become useful to us at this point.”

“I’m not very religious, but this is making me regain my faith because it’s a gift, not only a second chance, but a gift from above,” said Cook, who plans to become a motivational speaker.

“Laughter is the best medicine and everyone wants a smile on their face,” Cook said, “Not only am I attractive, I have a lot of humor in me.”