At just 18 years old, Joe DiMeo from New Jersey was involved in a devastating car accident. It happened when he accidentally fell asleep behind the wheel while driving home after working a night shift.
The accident left him with third-degree burns covering 80 percent of his body. His fingertips had to be amputated. His Dodge Challenger flipped over and caught fire back in July 2018, changing his life forever.
Now, seven years later, Joe is 26 and reflecting on his recovery. He explained how the burns destroyed his eyelids and lips. Doctors had to perform 20 different reconstructive surgeries, including multiple skin grafts, to try to repair the damage.
Then in August 2020, he made history. Joe became the first person ever to receive a successful face and double hand transplant in a groundbreaking procedure.
Describing what it felt like during that time, he told People magazine: “You can hear people. It’s all dreams, but they’re mostly bad dreams, because, like when they take you into the tank room, where they wash you off, take off all the bandages – that’s not fun.”
“You can feel the pain, so you’re dreaming about pain. They’re doctors not meaning it towards you, they’re just taking off the bandages, but it still hurts.”
“He passed away 2012/13. I’m like oh, this is, this is it. I’m assuming this is the afterlife, just me walking my dog on an endless hill.”
After recovering from the crash and the long list of surgeries, Joe ended up finding love. He met Californian native Jessica Koby, who had started following him on Instagram after coming across his inspiring story.
Talking about why he chose to share his story publicly, Joe said: “I realized, you know what? Let me be real like, actually real, real. Putting my story out there to motivate people to get out their funky days and the cloudy days.”
“I would prefer not to be burned, but I like my life now, just because I have Jessica around.”