Crime & Safety
Dublin Teen Speaks Out After Losing Hand In Pleasanton Fireworks Blast: Report
18-year-old Nader Hanna lost his right hand holding a firework in Pleasanton, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
PLEASANTON, CA — A Dublin teen who lost his hand to a firework in Pleasanton this summer is sharing his story as he rebuilds his life, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
In early June, Pleasanton police announced that an 18-year-old had accidentally detonated a firework on his hand near the In-N-Out Burger on Johnson Drive, and was transported to the hospital in stable condition. The Chronicle has revealed that the 18-year-old was Nader Hanna, who was spending time with his friends and twin brother just after graduating high school.
According to The Chronicle, a classmate handed Hanna a firework the size of a tennis ball, and he lit it, causing it to “[go] off like a grenade.”
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“My hand took the whole blow. I looked down and I didn’t see a hand. It disintegrated,” he remembered. He told The Chronicle that when he looked down and saw blood, he initially thought that he was dreaming. He ran toward his friends screaming.
His brother Ramsey called 911, then ran into the street searching for pieces of his brother’s hand. Police arrived and wrapped his hand in two tourniquets before going to the hospital. “His hand just looked like it was put in a blender, it was just flesh,” his friend Kevan Mokashi told The Chronicle. “There was no hand, it was just spewing blood everywhere. We were all freaking out.”
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Still, Hanna told himself that the accident was “God’s plan,” and is trying to remain positive. He is left-handed and lost his right hand, and is reportedly trying to adjust to previously simple tasks like driving or brushing his teeth.
Hanna said that he has been able to cope thanks to the support of his family, friends, and church. He also continues to look toward the future. He plans to take his first semester of college online so he can attend nearby doctor's appointments, and also plans to take two months to heal before considering prosthetics.
“It just motivated me to be better, for the future,” he told The Chronicle. “Now I have to be someone great. I can’t be an average dude now since I don’t have a right hand.”
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