A man who lost both arms and shoulders in a horrific electrical accident has made medical history after undergoing a groundbreaking transplant that has allowed him to once again hug his loved ones more than two decades later.

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Felix Gretarsson, an electrician from Iceland, suffered life-changing injuries in 1998 when a workplace accident left him fighting for his life.

At the time, Gretarsson was carrying out what should have been a routine repair on an overhead power cable.

However, a miscommunication between him and his colleagues resulted in him grabbing a live wire carrying 11,000 volts of electricity, The Guardian reports.

The enormous shock sent him falling approximately 10 metres from the pylon onto the frozen ground below.

He broke his neck and back in three places, while the electrical current also caused both of his arms to catch fire.

His colleagues rushed to help, collecting freezing water from a nearby river in their helmets to extinguish the flames.

Gretarsson survived the initial accident, but the damage to his body was devastating.

Speaking to Positive News, he recalled: “I just remember lying there waiting for the ambulance and feeling pain in my belly because my body had shut out everything else.”

“I was put to sleep when I got to the hospital, and woke up three months later with no arms.”

Doctors initially amputated both arms above the elbows, but severe infections meant further surgery was necessary.

Over the following months, surgeons were forced to remove more of his limbs until both arms had been amputated at the shoulders.

“They were chopping me down piece by piece for the next 11 months,” he explained. “My doctor said that in those first years, I had 54 operations.”

The physical injuries were only part of what Gretarsson had to overcome.

Struggling to cope with the aftermath of the accident, he turned to alcohol and drugs, which eventually placed his life in further danger.

“My therapy was shutting it out with drugs and alcohol and general destruction for the next few years,” he admitted. “I got to a place where they said: ‘You are either going to be dead or you do something’.”

With help from Alcoholics Anonymous, Gretarsson began rebuilding his life.

However, the damage to his liver meant he required a transplant.

When the first transplant failed, he underwent another just two months later. It was his experience with organ transplantation that eventually inspired him to consider something previously unimaginable: getting his arms back.

Gretarsson had followed developments in transplant surgery, including the world’s first hand transplant in France in 1999.

In 2007, he learned that Professor Jean-Michel Dubernard, the physician involved in that pioneering operation, was visiting Iceland to deliver a lecture.

Determined to explore his options, Gretarsson tracked the surgeon down at his hotel and persuaded him to review his case.

A year later, news of the world’s first double arm transplant in Germany gave him further encouragement.

He eventually relocated to Lyon, France, to be closer to the medical specialists who might one day make his dream possible. But while waiting for a potential breakthrough, something else changed his life.

During English language classes in Lyon, Gretarsson met Sylwia, a Polish yoga teacher. The pair fell in love and married, building a life together in France with their two dogs.

“We have two doggies and a very nice life here now,” he said. “I came for arms, but now I have so much more.”

Rather than putting his entire life on hold while waiting for surgery, Gretarsson began focusing on the happiness he had already found.

Then, in January 2021, the phone call he had been hoping for finally arrived.

Doctors had identified a suitable donor and were ready to attempt a procedure that had never been successfully performed before.

Gretarsson underwent a 14-hour operation, becoming the recipient of the world’s first double arm and shoulder transplant.

Surgeons declared the procedure a success, although they warned that determining how much movement he could eventually regain would take years of rehabilitation.

Lead surgeon Aram Gazarian explained that even a relatively small improvement could make an enormous difference.

“If he can recover the possibility to actively bend his elbow, that would be a life-changer,” he said.

Yet Gretarsson soon began showing encouraging signs of recovery, and within six months of the operation, he reported nerve sensations extending further down his new arms than doctors had initially anticipated.

He also shared updates on Instagram demonstrating movement in his bicep and the ability to wave his right arm, using mainly his shoulder.

“I feel nerves down to the elbow in both arms,” Gretarsson revealed. “That’s not supposed to be happening so fast. It’s amazing.”

According to Gretarsson, doctors had explained that nerves typically grow at approximately one millimetre per day, meaning recovery of sensation and movement would be a lengthy process.

Nevertheless, his early progress offered encouragement as he continued rehabilitation.

There were also some unexpected adjustments to life with his transplanted arms.

Gretarsson revealed that the hair and fingernails on his new limbs had started growing, leaving him joking about needing help with a manicure.

“I need my mum here to fix the nails,” he said. “She is the best one to do that.”

Despite everything he endured, Gretarsson maintained his sense of humour about the extraordinary medical procedures that had kept him alive.

“I have a Danish liver, French arms – I’m a modern-day Frankenstein,” he joked.

He also recognised the significance of becoming the first person to receive such an extensive transplant.

“No-one else has ever lost their arms and shoulders, and got them back. I consider myself to be very, very privileged,” he said.

For his wife Sylwia, the operation represented the fulfilment of her husband’s “biggest dream”. However, she made clear that his physical condition had never changed how she viewed him.

Over the summer of 2026, Gretarsson revealed to his followers that he was undergoing treatments and teasts for what later turned out to be a misdiagnosis of cancer in his nose. These treatments he was enduring resulted in his arms rejecting his body.

However, in a video shared in October, Gretarsson revealed that his doctors have solved the issue and “everything is happy days”. This also comes as he celebrates 19 years sober.

What a truly incredible human being. We wish Felix all the best for the future.

Featured image credit: Instagram/@felix_gretarsson