The Hollywood Exec and the Hand Transplant That Changed His Life
March 25, 2017 12:21 AM Subscribe
It is a beautiful hand: strong, with long, slender fingers and smooth skin, its nails ridgeless and pink. If you didn’t know Jonathan Koch—if you first met him, say, on the courts at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Club—you might not suspect that his hand previously belonged to someone else.
Yikes.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:40 AM on March 25, 2017
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:40 AM on March 25, 2017
“You’ve got to know when to wave the white flag and move on with your life,” he told me, already re-adjusting even as he acknowledged partial defeat. “The hardest part for me has been in the period of subtraction. This is the beginning of the period of addition.”
~~~~~ Jonathan Koch
Great story. I love that he was such a fighter yet had to learn new ways to channel that piece of himself, had to learn to "wave the white flag" whilst simultaneously maintaining his "I can do anything." attitude. A one in 200 million chance of getting sick as he did, for reasons unknown. That part is scary; any day at all, for any reason, or none at all, you (and/or me) could end up that ill, and on deaths door, perhaps stepping through that door.
Another great quote from the essay: ... and he expressed the unfairness of his situation for the first time out loud. Didn’t he exercise? Didn’t he eat right? “The one thing I don’t understand,” he admitted to Dr. Abell, “is why did this happen?” Abell’s response: “Jonathan, the reason you took such great care of yourself was not to avoid this. It was to *survive* this.”
These doctors. Goddamn, these docs are amazing. Yeah, there are butchers out there, there are hacks, there are incompetents in any field, but then you read about a doc like Kodi Azari and marvel at their intellect and abilities and care for people. I sortof love docs like these people. I've a cardiologist I trust completely, a guy like Azari, utterly confident, utterly competent, too. I've known three shrinks at this level of competence also, one of them is my current shrink -- she's amazing. I've got this manic depression thing going on, she knows the illness as well as any other doc I've ever met. I just love doctors, is all. I owe them my life, they've given me my life.
Anyways. Great read. Thanx for posting it.
posted by dancestoblue at 3:42 AM on March 25, 2017 [9 favorites]
~~~~~ Jonathan Koch
Great story. I love that he was such a fighter yet had to learn new ways to channel that piece of himself, had to learn to "wave the white flag" whilst simultaneously maintaining his "I can do anything." attitude. A one in 200 million chance of getting sick as he did, for reasons unknown. That part is scary; any day at all, for any reason, or none at all, you (and/or me) could end up that ill, and on deaths door, perhaps stepping through that door.
Another great quote from the essay: ... and he expressed the unfairness of his situation for the first time out loud. Didn’t he exercise? Didn’t he eat right? “The one thing I don’t understand,” he admitted to Dr. Abell, “is why did this happen?” Abell’s response: “Jonathan, the reason you took such great care of yourself was not to avoid this. It was to *survive* this.”
These doctors. Goddamn, these docs are amazing. Yeah, there are butchers out there, there are hacks, there are incompetents in any field, but then you read about a doc like Kodi Azari and marvel at their intellect and abilities and care for people. I sortof love docs like these people. I've a cardiologist I trust completely, a guy like Azari, utterly confident, utterly competent, too. I've known three shrinks at this level of competence also, one of them is my current shrink -- she's amazing. I've got this manic depression thing going on, she knows the illness as well as any other doc I've ever met. I just love doctors, is all. I owe them my life, they've given me my life.
Anyways. Great read. Thanx for posting it.
posted by dancestoblue at 3:42 AM on March 25, 2017 [9 favorites]
Scary! But also, thank goodness he could access all that care. This one kind of story that politicians should bear in mind. (Access to everyday care is probably more important from a public health standpoint, yeah, but still.). I mean, what if he'd tried to tough it out because he didn't have insurance? Another day and that would probably have been it.
posted by Frowner at 4:40 AM on March 25, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 4:40 AM on March 25, 2017 [5 favorites]
Holy craaaaaaaaap.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:34 AM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:34 AM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wow, what a story.
(Of course, I can't help but think about what might have happened if he didn't have a multi-million company that he could take off from, and a fiance to take care of him, and a personal trainer there day and night...and if something like Tump's muslim ban had been in place when that doctor's family was fleeing the revolution in Iran.)
posted by notsnot at 6:45 AM on March 25, 2017 [20 favorites]
(Of course, I can't help but think about what might have happened if he didn't have a multi-million company that he could take off from, and a fiance to take care of him, and a personal trainer there day and night...and if something like Tump's muslim ban had been in place when that doctor's family was fleeing the revolution in Iran.)
posted by notsnot at 6:45 AM on March 25, 2017 [20 favorites]
Absolutely, for many other people "physical therapy" is a xeroxed page of exercises.
posted by rhizome at 3:36 PM on March 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 3:36 PM on March 25, 2017 [4 favorites]
What a great story. Like, I don't even care that it seems like one in a million that he was able to get such good care and be in such good physical condition, because it was one in a million that he'd get sick like that, and one in a million that he'd survive, and that the surgery would happen, and everything else. Such a unique situation that I can't gripe, it's just inspiring.
posted by Secretariat at 5:35 PM on March 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Secretariat at 5:35 PM on March 25, 2017 [2 favorites]
I found it hard to read the article. Can someone explain why he lost his limbs and why it can't happen to anyone I know?
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:54 PM on March 25, 2017
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:54 PM on March 25, 2017
Sepsis and it was a freak occurrence.
posted by (Over) Thinking at 8:58 PM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by (Over) Thinking at 8:58 PM on March 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
In fact, it’s common for people who’ve been “put under” to have terrifying hallucinations or nightmares.
that part....O M G
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:47 PM on March 25, 2017
that part....O M G
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:47 PM on March 25, 2017
Amazing article. I've really enjoyed the longform pieces at Los Angeles magazine. I hope the new owners continue its tradition of good journalism; unfortunately the editor-in-chief and the author of this article left the magazine after the sale was announced.
posted by mogget at 7:48 PM on March 28, 2017
posted by mogget at 7:48 PM on March 28, 2017
« Older Talk Talk | I'm afraid something's not right about this, Chris... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:15 AM on March 25, 2017 [3 favorites]