SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR HAND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT
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MILLVILLE -- A heartwarming story out of Millville, where a young woman is thriving after receiving a hand transplant a few years ago. It's a surgical procedure that now has her literally soaring to new heights.

"I was like, I could do that, I could fly a plane, why not?"

It's a thought that Jessica Arrigo wouldn't have had just a few years ago, before she underwent a rare hand transplant surgery that changed her life.

"I didn't realize how fast things would progress," she added.

But they've progressed rather quickly. The now 28-year-old is now working to get her pilot's license.

"I never thought I would be flying a plane, it's just something that never occurred to me. It's not a piece of cake, but it doesn't make me nervous, not at all," Jessica added.

It's something that doesn't compare to what she's gone through. Jessica contracted a rare virus nearly seven years ago that almost claimed her life and took both of her legs and each hand in the process. She now has two prosthetic legs, and she's the first woman in the state of New Jersey to receive a hand transplant.

Jessica's father says he never thought she would walk again, let alone fly a plane. "She came home one day and said dad, can I take flying lessons, I didn't know if she meant flying a kite, but nothing slows her down, she's had a positive attitude since day one," said Wayne Arrigo.

When it comes to flying, Jessica's setbacks haven't slowed her down at all. In fact, her instructors say that she's made better progress than many.

"She has a willpower that is much stronger than the average person," said Dennis Renauro, the head flight instructor at Big Sky Aviation in Millville. "She seems to be able to find her way around the airplane better than most people."

The Federal Aviation Administration requires at least 40 hours to obtain a pilot's license, and Jessica's instructors say they are confident that she'll have hers sooner than later.

"She has the mindset that she's going to do it, and she can do it," added Renauro.

"Everything she does amazes me. I'm the proudest parent on the face of the earth," said Jessica's father.

Undertaking 1500 lbs of aluminum seems like nothing to this optimist, as the sky truly is the limit.

"It's not a big deal to me, it's just the way things are."