Man gets prosthetic arm after furnace ordeal [The Hartford Courant, Conn.]

Aug. 26--HARTFORD -- Less than three months after his harrowing ordeal in the basement of his West Hartford home, Jonathan Metz has a new prosthetic arm.

Not only that, Metz revealed on NBC's "Today" show Wednesday morning, he has returned to that same basement time and again to do woodworking. But there's been a change in the setting since June 9, when rescuers found Metz and completed the amputation that the 31-year-old had started with power tool blades.

"The boiler is gone," Metz told Matt Lauer in NBC's New York studios, "and that was one thing I wasn't ready to see again."

Two days before the rescue, Metz had gone down to the basement at night to clean the boiler. But as he reached inside it to pick up a cleaning tool that he had dropped, his left arm became stuck between two heating fins.

Metz, who works for Travelers Property Casualty Corp., screamed for help from his semi-crouched position for 12 hours. After about 18 hours, with his upper arm bleeding and infected, Metz began to cut.

Metz told Lauer in a six-minute segment that he was doing "pretty good," raising his prosthetic limb as he said it. With an initial prosthesis, Metz has done woodworking over the past several weeks, a pastime that he considers therapeutic. About a week ago, he was fitted with a more permanent BeBionic limb from British company RSLSteeper, which includes microprocessor-controlled fingers that can move individually.

"The technology is just astonishing," said Metz, who still feels some phantom sensation in his left arm.

Metz's doctor, Scott Ellner at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, said that Metz planned to return to work soon. And Metz, who thought often of his fiancee, Melissa Mowder, during the June horror, said that he plans to marry her on Nov. 13.

Lauer asked if Metz has given himself time to "grieve" for his loss. Metz replied that he did, although he still has dark days.

"But you know," Metz added, "this" -- his new arm -- "has given me a lot of optimism."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

To see more of The Hartford Courant, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.courant.com/.

Copyright (c) 2010, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail services@mctinfoservices.com, or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544)