US fitness lover loses arm in crash – UAE surgery transforms his life

It was November 16, 2023, when Joshua Arnold and Alyssa Acker got engaged, celebrating the occasion with a “365 days till the Arnold Wedding” social media post. But by March 2024, Arnold, a 29-year-old American and fitness enthusiast from Louisiana, was fighting for his life after a devastating motorcycle accident that cost him his right arm and the sight in his left eye.

A fight for life

He spent two weeks in a coma, endured a near-fatal aortic dissection, shattered his humerus and femur, tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus, fractured his spine, suffered a brain bleed and optic nerve damage, went into kidney failure, and faced a brachial plexus injury that left him with prolonged radial nerve palsy for six months. His survival was nothing short of a miracle.
“I couldn’t even feed myself,” Joshua recalled. “I thought I’d lost everything.”

Unwavering support

Joshua leaned on his parents, brothers, and above all, Alyssa, who never left his side. She worked tirelessly to hold their lives together, even as their wedding plans crumbled and Joshua’s mental health spiralled.
“There were many nights I saw him crying. But I always reminded him that this wasn’t the end of his story. I knew better days would come,” Alyssa said.

Hope arrives from UAE

Joshua tried traditional socket prosthetics but found them painful and limiting. A passionate bodybuilder, he returned to the gym but felt like he was walking through a dark tunnel, hoping for light at the end. That light finally came in the form of a phone call. He had been selected as a beneficiary of the UAE’s 10 Journeys Initiative by Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, Founder and Chairman of Burjeel Holdings, which provides free osseointegration surgery to amputees in need. Osseointegration surgery – an advanced reconstructive procedure that anchors prosthetic limbs directly to the skeleton, enhancing mobility, comfort, and overall quality of life.

Life-changing surgery

After a 22-hour journey from Louisiana, Arnold and Alyssa arrived in Abu Dhabi’s Burjeel Medical City, where his surgery by Prof. Dr Munjed Al Muderis became far more than a medical milestone. “This opportunity is truly life-changing. I knew I would finally have a chance to live again.”

Finding purpose in pain

Now, Joshua dreams of becoming an influencer to share his story with others facing similar struggles.
“I want people to know that no matter how bad life gets, there is always hope. It’s not the good times that shape you; it’s the struggles. And I want to show others there is beauty in the struggle,” he said.
He will continue his rehabilitation at the Paley Orthopaedic and Spine Institute in Florida but plans to return to the UAE next year to celebrate his honeymoon.

“I want to tell the world that losing a limb or an arm is not the end of life.”