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Joe DiMeo is using his story to inspire others.
Nearly eight years after a car crash burned 80 percent of his body, prompting the first successful dual face and double hand transplant in history, the TikToker is sharing his story in a new book titled Eighty Percent Gone, One Hundred Percent Strong: Rebuilt with Resilience.
The 27-year-old—who received the face and hands of a 47-year-old donor in August 2020—shared in a Jan. 20 TikTok, “Hopefully the book can inspire other people and motivate them through hard times and get them [through] their cloudy days at least.”
Since his July 2018 crash, Joe, who was 18 when he fell asleep at the wheel on his way home from an overnight shift, has detailed his three-month coma and subsequent recovery, which included over 20 reconstructive surgeries. He has also described his mindset prior to receiving his face and hand transplants.
"That was the first thing [my surgeon] said, like, 'This can fail,'" Joe said in an interview with People in June. "But there is a risk of death during any surgery. So it didn't bother me at all.
He added, "You're going to die anyway. Might as well die trying to regain independence and live my life."
So, in August 2020, Joe underwent a 23-hour surgery requiring 86 medical personnel.
"They cut off my burnt face around the hairline, behind the ears—they really connected behind the ears, a lot of scar tissue there—down around the neck," he told me. "They put the donor's face on. They needed to reconnect all of the veins, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. "They put two metal plates on my cheekbones to keep them from sagging."
Joe went on: "With the hands, they basically cut like [above the wrist], they re-attached all the veins, ligaments, nervous systems."
Following his lengthy recovery, which included relearning how to perform many daily tasks, Joe met his now-wife Jessica on Instagram, which he considers a silver lining of his experience.
"It sucks that I got into the accident. I lost 80% of my skin and have someone else's face and hands on me," he explained. "But then I also found my life partner, and if I wouldn't have had the accident, I'd probably still be a cocky 26-year-old."
Joe went on: "I would prefer not to be burned, but I like my life now, just because I have Jessica around."
