New Hand, New Life

The nation's first successful hand transplant recipient left for home Wednesday after months of rehabilitation.

At a news conference, Matthew Scott acknowledged that his treatment marks a milestone in medical history, but said he hoped to live a life outside the spotlight.

"It would be a dream if I could be anonymous," the 38-year-old paramedic told reporters. "I would very much like to fade into the background."

Scott made headlines when he underwent the hand transplant surgery on Jan. 25 at Jewish Hospital in Louisville. On Wednesday, he and his wife, Dawn, tearfully said goodbye and gave thanks to the doctors, nurses and therapists who had treated him, before heading home for Abescon, N.J. Scott also thanked the family who donated the left hand, which had been taken from a cadaver.

Scott lost his hand 13 years ago in a firecracker accident. Although he still has no sensation in his fingertips, hand surgeon Warren Breidenbach said Scott was progressing rapidly. He said full sensation should come in about a year.

One of his doctors, Jon Jones, said it is too soon to know whether the transplant will show further progress.

"We're still in uncharted waters," Jones said.

"But we're confident we can handle what comes next," he added.

Scott already overcame one episode of rejection, Jones said, though the possibility still exists for another.

Scott was quick to point out that he can now throw a baseball "35 feet down the center of the plate." Among his goals in seeking the transplant was a chance to play catch with his son.

Critics had doubted such a procedure could work and argued that the risk involved was not worth the reward. Scott countered Wednesday by saying, "My precious gift is anything but useless."

Scott said he expects to return to his teaching job at a community college and as an emergency medical service supervisor in about two weeks. He said there probably will be changes in adjusting to life away from public scrutiny.

But, he added, "the time to be scared has come and gone ... Once we decided to go ahead, the fear more or less left."

He is one of only two people in the world with a transplanted hand. The other is an Australian who underwent the graft in France in September.