Jan E. "Erik" Hondusky was watching television when a program came on that made him sit up straight.

The show was on hand transplantation.

Mr. Hondusky, Massena, who had lost his right hand in an industrial accident, called his wife, Raylene A., at work to tell her he was recording the show so they could watch it together.

Mrs. Hondusky took notes and called the Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center in Louisville, Ky. Within days, Mr. Hondusky was tested to see if he was a suitable transplant candidate. His name was entered on the organ donor network Nov. 26, 2007.

He was using a myoelectric prothesis but wanted a human hand, Mrs. Hondusky said.

"He just wants to get back to some kind of normal. It's different for everybody," she said. "To us, normal is him playing softball. Normal is him being able to be an EMT. Normal is him picking his granddaughter up with both hands. That is what he will be able to do."

On Monday, Mr. Hondusky, 43, became the fifth person in the United States to receive a hand transplant. There have been a total of 40 hands transplanted on 32 patients around the world.

"Everything is going great," Mrs. Hondusky said Wednesday. "He's able to move his thumb already."

Mrs. Hondusky will stay with her husband until mid-December. She'll come home for the holidays and then travel back and forth between Louisville and Massena.

"It's definitely been a roller coaster. It's just non-stop," Mrs. Hondusky said. "I wasn't scared until after I was alone for the surgery. It finally hit me."

Mr. Hondusky will remain hospitalized for five to seven days. After his release, he will stay in Louisville for three months undergoing therapy three hours a day five to six days per week.

"Right now he pretty much stays in his room. It's pretty quiet," Mrs. Hondusky said. "He's happy. I'm happy."

The transplant and first three months of Mr. Hondusky's care are covered by research funding the hospital receives from the Department of Defense, according to Barbara K. Mackovic, senior manager with the Hand Care Center. After that, Mr. Hondusky's expenses are covered through worker's compensation.

Mr. Hondusky's hand was amputated after it was crushed and burned in an April 12, 2006, furnace accident at the General Motors Powertrain plant.