Picking strawberries at Emma Lea Farms this spring had a particular significance for one Tsawwassen man.
Peter Harms has always loved picking berries at the Westham Island farm, and in May he dreamed of returning to the fields as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from toe-to-thumb transplant surgery.
It was in 1998 when Harms' hand was partially amputated in a workplace accident. He completely lost his thumb and index finger from his right hand, as well as portions of the middle and ring fingers.
"It was really bad," Harms saidadding he underwent seven operations in the days following the accident.
At the time, doctors suggested transplanting his toe to replace his missing thumb. However, Harms said he initially declined another surgery as his wife was due to give birth in a few weeks and he knew that recovering from the surgery would be a long process.
"I meant to do it sooner," he said, but as often happens, life got in the way and his left hand took over as his dominant hand.
It wasn't until two years ago when he was at a hand clinic for an unrelated reason that a physiotherapist urged him to get the surgery. Harms said the therapist showed him photos of another patient that had a similar operation.
"It was not a beautiful picture, but it was functional and she was happy," he said.
So in early May Harms went in for the surgery. In the operation, which took 20 hours to complete, doctors removed his big toe from his right foot and attached it to his hand to replace his missing thumb.
Initially the surgery was a success, however on the third day of recovery, the blood vessels in his transplanted thumb went into spasms. Harms had to be rushed into the operating room where doctors worked for 10 hours to salvage the new digit.
After the surgery, the new thumb had to stay warm so the temperature in Harms' hospital room was kept at 30 degrees Celsius and his hand was kept wrapped and at a balmy 43 degrees.
"For one week I was living in a sauna," he said, adding he also began hallucinating from the painkillers.
In all, Harms spent four weeks in hospital recovering and during those long days he said he often dreamed of picking berries, a favourite pastime in the spring and summer.
"That's basically what kept me alive, 'I want to go strawberry picking,'" he said.
And just one week after being released from hospital, Harms was back at Emma Lea Farms eager to put his new thumb to work.
"Picking berries is just where I belong," he said, adding it also acts as good rehabilitation as he learns to use his new thumb.
