He made history with Türkiye's first arm transplant! He's farming with his transplanted arms: "I'm building my own life."
Cihan Topal, a married father of two who works as a farmer in the Terziler Neighborhood of Aydın 's Efeler district, lost both arms in a work accident in 2008.
Topal applied to Antalya Akdeniz University Hospital for an arm transplant, and the good news came two years later. On September 25, 2010, both arms of 23-year-old Fatih Demirel, who lost his life in a traffic accident in the Milas district of Muğla, were surgically transplanted by Antalya Akdeniz University Hospital Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan and his team. Topal made medical history as the first patient to receive a double arm transplant in Türkiye.
Topal, who began harvesting figs in his garden in the Terziler neighborhood, recounted his experiences. "Between 2008 and 2010, I was without both hands, and that's how I lived for two years. Now, you hold a branch of a tree and you feel it. Just holding this leaf and feeling it, picking a fig from here and eating it, is a different feeling, a different joy. Because imagine losing both hands, if you become disillusioned with life, your life is completely over. But you have to keep fighting, you have to never give up. I never gave up; I asked God for everything. Thank God, I held on to life with the first double arm transplant surgery in Türkiye, performed on September 25, 2010," he said.
Topal explained that he named his son, born in 2014, after Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan, who performed the surgery. "When I decided to have this surgery," he said, "I said, 'God, let me hold my daughter's hand and take her to a park. I want two hands big enough to take her to school and stroke her hair. I don't want anything else.' Thank God, God answered our prayers. I decided to have this surgery so I could hold my daughter's hand, take her to a park, and stroke her hair. And now, thank God, my daughter is studying nursing. God willing, she will begin her internship this year. There's no better feeling than their happiness, being able to hold their hand, and hugging them. These are the most beautiful feelings and moments in my life."
Topal emphasized that he can now do everything with his hands and is happy about it, saying, "I can drive my car and my motorcycle. We pick our own figs and olives. I can do these things myself. I feed and water the chickens, and I can buy their eggs. All of this was a dream. It was all a dream, but as I said, we must not give up the fight. If we had given up the fight, we wouldn't be alive today. That's why, thank God, so many positive things have changed in our lives. We won't ask, 'What have we become?' We will ask, 'What will we become?'"
Topal also emphasized the importance of organ transplantation, saying, "If I'm alive today and can do anything, I owe it to organ donation. I can do everything today thanks to organ donation . Without organ donation, these surgeries wouldn't exist, and no one would be able to do them. I wish everyone would be more aware of organ donation. All my organs, including my face, have been donated. I donated them the year I got my driver's license, in 2000. I donated them years before the surgery. Thank goodness we have these days. Every healthy citizen is a potential candidate for disability every minute, every day. We must not forget this. We need to help our brothers and sisters with disabilities. Let's all do our best to help. But organ donation is very important," he said, urging everyone to be more mindful.
(İHA) This content was published by Sedef Karatay
mynet
