Former Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi had his left hand amputated this past April, Massaquoi detailed in a video published Monday on The Players' Tribune.
In the powerful 4:24 video, Massaquoi, now 31, shows the device he wears that substitutes for his four fingers and works with his thumb. Massaquoi moved the fingers, which made the robotics sound he now lives with.
“I had been an NFL wide receiver,” Massaquoi wrote in a brief prelude to the video. “I’d made my career by catching the ball. A few days later, my left hand had been amputated.”
Former @NFL and @UGAFootball wide receiver @IronMassaquoi made his career catching a ball.
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) February 12, 2018
Last April, his left hand was amputated.
This is the first time he's told his story: https://t.co/cNm7qAddud pic.twitter.com/mecccJ6sZN
Massaquoi was a 2009 second-round pick of the Browns. He played in Cleveland for four seasons.
In the video, Massaquoi details the grim reality of what he faced with the accident, and the dramatic moments when it happened.
He said he went trail riding on an ATV in April and took a turn too sharply. The vehicle rolled and destroyed his left hand. Doctors and the medical staff at the University of Georgia tried to save the hand -- “a feat in itself,” he said -- but Massaquoi said that over time he lost all his fingers except his thumb.
“I guess when I look at my hand, I’m just thankful,” he said. “I’m thankful for the process. I’m thankful for the little things in life. I’m thankful for family, for friendship, thankful for real things.”