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" On Easter Sunday in 2009, Brendan Marrocco was in Iraq, serving in the U.S. Army, when his life changed forever. The armored vehicle he was in was attacked and rocked by an explosion. One soldier was killed. Two were injured, including Brendan. When he woke up in the hospital, he had no arms or legs. Marrocco says that he has little recollection of the event, but tells CNN, &amp;quot;I was still alive, so that&amp;#039;s really all that mattered to me at the time.&amp;quot; Brendan&amp;#039;s progress and positive outlook ever since is inspirational. He learned to walk on prosthetic legs, and last month his story took an incredible turn when he underwent a successful double arm transplant. In a 13-hour operation, doctors at The Johns Hopkins Hospital performed the surgery in which limbs from a deceased donor were attached: the right arm above the elbow, the left arm below it. Doctors also gave him bone marrow from the limb donor, an experimental move that allows Marrocco to take just one anti-rejection medication instead of three. (The latter approach carries greater risk to a patient&amp;#039;s health.) On Tuesday, Marrocco met with the media to discuss the surgery and the remarkable advances he&amp;#039;s already shown in the month since it took place. The animated Staten Islander fielded questions and showed off his new arms, and when asked about the things he&amp;#039;s most looking forward to doing once he&amp;#039;s fully recovered, he said something that all of us can instantly relate to. &amp;quot;Driving. Absolutely, driving. I used to love to drive and it was a lot of fun for me. So, I am really looking forward to getting back to that,&amp;quot; he said. That, we understand. Waiting in his garage, as it has the last three years, is Brendan&amp;#039;s black Dodge Charger SRT8:  You see, Brendan Marrocco is many things. An American. A veteran. A hero. An inspiration. He&amp;#039;s also an enthusiast. He is one of us. So maybe one day we&amp;#039;ll be lucky enough to share a handshake and go for a spin in that Charger.  We call shotgun. Brendan Marrocco is on Twitter. Go wish him well at @bmarr86. If you&amp;#039;d like to help out, you can visit The Brendan Marrocco Road to Recovery Trust. Sources: CNN, Daily Mail,Johns Hopkins Medicine "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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