Former NFL wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi suffered an ATV accident last year that cost him most of his left hand, he revealed in a video for The Players’ Tribune.
He showed the prosthetic he now wears and explained how the injury occurred.
“Making a turn — I take the turn too sharply,” the 31-year-old said in a video for The Players’ Tribune. “And before I know it, my ATV loses control. The next thing I feel is something just feels like an explosion just went off in my hand. I’m in shock, so I don’t feel it. But I’m very aware of what’s going on, just because there’s blood everywhere.
“What I’m seeing and what my friends are seeing are completely different — they’re seeing what actually happened, I’m seeing what I think happened. I’m thinking that I just broke my hand. My friend, on the other hand, thinks my hand just went through a meat grinder.”
Doctors worked to save the hand before realizing they had to take his fingers — Massaquoi still has his left thumb. The experience was one that caused Massaquoi to obtain “a perspective of how precious life is.”
“I guess when I look at my hand, I’m just thankful,” Massaquoi said. “I’m thankful for the process. I’m thankful for the little things in life. I’m thankful for family, for friendship, thankful for real things.”
Massaquoi, who was a second-round pick out of Georgia by the Cleveland Browns back in 2009, played four years in the NFL. He caught a total of 118 passes for 1,745 yards and 7 touchdowns in that span before being signed and released by the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets in 2013.