Modern medicine can do some truly amazing things.

Thanks to the incredible advancements that doctors, surgeons, and other medical professionals have made, people’s lives are being transformed and their livelihood is being restored.

Medical transplants have allowed people who have lost limbs or become disfigured to regain their mobility and quality of life.

They have even allowed them to have an identity again, like this burn victim who successfully underwent a face transplant.

Retired Marine John Peck was also able to undergo the unbelievable experience of getting a transplant with not just one, but both of his arms!

After losing all four of his limbs in Afghanistan, Peck expected to use his prosthetics for the rest of his life.

But now that his new arms have been successfully attached, he eagerly awaits the day he can hold his fiancé’s hand, shake hands with his surgeon, and pursue his childhood dreams.

Check below to learn more about his amazing journey.

Facebook/John Peck’s Journey

After a 2010 explosion in Afghanistan took all four of his limbs, retired Marine John Peck expected to rely on arm prosthetics for the rest of his life,

Having already received a medal for suffering a brain injury in 2008, he rejoined combat in 2010 and stepped on an IED, causing him to become a quadruple amputee.

But after several year’s worth of recovery and research evaluations, the recipient of two Purple Hearts was finally placed on the waiting list for two arm transplants.

Facebook/Jessica Lauren

His eventual surgery, which was led by Dr. Simon Talbot and performed by a team of 12 surgeons, attached the arms of a man who had been declared brain dead onto Peck’s body.

The surgery required 13 hours of isolating muscles, veins, and bones to fuse together — it is believed to be the second transplant performed on a quadruple amputee.

Facebook/Jessica Lauren

Though the limbs were successfully attached, Peck will have to go through months of physical therapy and painful nerve ending development before he will be able to fully operate them.

On top of all this, he has to worry about his body rejecting the foreign limbs, which it was already in danger of doing for a brief period after the surgery.

“Any day my body can say, nope, not having it. And then go back to Brigham and get my arms re-amputated even higher than I was before,” Peck explained.

Facebook/John Peck’s Journey

Despite all of the grueling hours and pain, Peck is feeling beyond grateful for his new arms.

Though the family who donated them wished to remain anonymous, Peck still thanked them in a video released by the hospital saying, “I just want them to know that this gift is not going go to waste at all.”

Facebook/Jessica Lauren

He is excited to be able to do things most people take for granted, like feeling his fiancé’s hand without her having to squeeze it hard.

“One day very soon I will be able to hold Jessica’s hand and actually feel it — and that is a very precious gift,” he told Fredericksburg.

He also looks forward to shaking Dr. Talbot’s hand, rather than giving him a “nub bump.”

Facebook/John Peck’s Journey

Peck’s new limbs will also allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a chef, an aspiration that he has had since age 12.

With this amazing opportunity, he wants to one day be able to perform on The Next Food Network Star and open his own restaurant.

Facebook/John Peck’s Journey

Peck’s amazing transplant proves that the chance for a new start is always present.

We look forward to seeing the amazing future feats that he will conquer.

Check below for a video further detailing Peck’s amazing transplant.