Officials at Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center have disclosed the identity of the man who received a double hand transplant this week. He's 55 year old Dr. Richard Edwards, a former chiropractor from Edmond, Oklahoma.He lost most of both hands in 2006, when he became trapped in his burning truck.Lead surgeon Dr. Warren Breidenbach says Edwards was still in intensive care Thursday but was up and about, and both hands look good.At a press conference after the procedure Wednesday, Breidenbach said having both hands immobilized in braces over the next six weeks will be a challenge for Edwards."If you're doing a single hand transplant, you've still got one hand that can take care of your activities of daily living. When you've got both hands tied up in braces, you're going to be paralyzed for a while," he said.The double hand transplant was the third in the nation and the first in Kentucky.The 17-and-a-half hour operation began Tuesday night.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.