Emily Fennell shows off hand transplant

Almost five years after losing her right hand in a car accident, 26-year-old Emily Fennell underwent hand transplantation surgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on March 4. The marathon 14-hour procedure was the first operation of its kind in the Western U.S. - and the 13th out of 14 such procedures performed in the U.S.

"It has been surreal to see that I have a hand again, and be able to wiggle my fingers," she said, according to a statement released by UCLA. "My 6-year-old daughter has never seen me with a hand. She looked at it, touched it and said it was 'cool.' "

UCLA Health System/Ann Johansson Photography

The new hand came from an unnamed deceased donor. Its size, color, and blood type made it a good match for Fennell, but she must take antirejection drugs for the rest of her life to keep her body from rejecting it.

Fennell tried a couple of prosthetic limbs after the accident that claimed her arm but gave them up after realizing they didn't do what she wanted them to do. Until she got the new hand, she learned to do everything left-handed.

Following the accident, doctors showed Fennell's mother X-rays of her daughter's badly injured hand. It was her decision to have doctors amputate what was left of the hand.

What was Fennell's reaction when her mother gave her the bad news? "Honestly, my first thought was 'this sucks,'" she says.

The donor hand came from an unnamed deceased person. Here, organ preservationist Nicholas Feduska (left) and surgeon Dr. Kodi Azari arrive at UCLA Medical Center on March 4, 2011, with a cooler containing the hand.

The surgery lasted more than 14 hours and involved a team of 17 surgeons, anesthesiologists, operating room nurses and technicians. Here, Dr. Azari (seated right) checks on finger flexibility as the donor's hand is attached to Fennell.

To attach the hand, doctors had to connect two bones, 23 tendons, two arteries, four veins, and at least three nerves. They had to use a microscope to make sure things were just so.

Fennell is putting in long hours with occupational therapists, hoping to regain fuller use of her new hand. Here, she learns to pick up and place objects during an occupational therapy session on April 4, 2011.

In an April 19, 2011 news conference, Fennell (right) listens as Dr. Azari describes the surgery that gave her a new hand.

"What was really one of the most emotional moments for me was to see her mother," Azari said. "Her mother came and hugged me and whispered in my ear, 'You have made my child whole again.'"

Fennell poses for photographs at her home in Yuba City, Calif. on March 3, 2011.