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Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi revealed in a video for The Players Tribune that his left hand was amputated after an ATV accident last April.
Massaquoi, who played for the Browns from 2009-12, said he had taken a turn too sharply and the vehicle rolled.
"The next thing I feel is like an explosion went off in my hand," Massaquoi said. "I'm in shock so I don't feel it, but I'm very aware of what's going on because of the blood everywhere."
Massaquoi said he initially thought he had broken his hand, but his friends thought his hand "went through a meat grinder." Massaquoi said doctors were initially able to put his hand back together, but after evaluation they were able to only salvage his thumb.
He now wears a mechanical prosthetic device.
“There’s an adjustment there to say, ‘This part of me is no longer (there),’ but are a lot of other parts that are still there … This just gives you a perspective of how precious life is, how fast things can change,” Massaquoi said. “You go from joyriding to flying in a helicopter finding out your hand will be amputated.”
Massaquoi, 31, was a second-round pick by the Browns in 2009 out of Georgia. He led the Browns with 624 receiving yards and three touchdown caches as a rookie, but his production waned in the ensuing seasons.
Follow Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz on Twitter @MikeMSchwartz.
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