Recovery continues after horrific accident

By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- CSC Ltd. steel worker Bob Sanata feels empathy for fellow employees who could be left jobless if the troubled steel bar mill closes.
Sanata hasn't been worrying much about CSC's Chapter 11 bankruptcy problem, however. He has more pressing issues on his mind.
Critically injured last December when a 21/2-ton crane block fell on him in the CSC melt shop, the Hermitage man is concentrating on survival.
Sanata, 48, lost his right arm in the accident.
His upper leg bone was split in half, his left hip and pelvis were shattered, he fractured six ribs and the vertebrae in his neck, his left lung was punctured, his shoulder tendons were torn and he had a gash in his head.
"I can't help thinking God saved me for a reason," he said, grinning as he exercised his right shoulder muscle during a therapy session. "I just haven't figured what it is yet."
A 1971 Kennedy Christian High School graduate, Sanata worked for Sharon Steel Corp. and the former Caparo Steel before hiring on at CSC two and a half years ago.
His job was preparing the molds used to form molten steel into bars at CSC's melt shop.
What happened: Sanata and three other men were working the midnight shift at about 4 a.m. Dec. 5 when a 5,000-pound block on the crane boom above their heads suddenly dropped, plummeting 25 to 30 feet. In an instant Sanata was crushed beneath its weight.
Other members of the crew escaped injury.
Sanata can't remember the accident, and he hasn't been able to learn what caused the block to fall.
Guy Catania, CSC vice president of human resources, said the company's policy is not to comment on an accident investigation.
Don Maffitt, the Action Ambulance paramedic who was first at the scene, said CSC melt shop employees told rescue workers that the crane reached its upper limit, then unexpectedly dropped.
The scene: Maffitt, also a paramedic for the Champion, Warren Township and Vienna fire departments, said he'd never seen such a horrible physical injury.
Sanata's arm had been instantly severed and was lying at his side. His helmet was crushed, his right leg was awkwardly positioned over his shoulder and he was wedged between the block and two hot metal plates.
Maffitt turned to Chris Owen, another Action rescue worker, and advised him that it looked like a fatality.
"Just as I said that, Bob started shouting," he recalled. "He was in intense pain, and he was letting us know."
Maffitt repositioned the victim's leg to alleviate the pain. He lodged himself between Sanata and a hot metal plate that had been pressed against his side -- both men suffered burns from the plate.
Rescuers used a crane to extricate Sanata under the direction of Champion firefighters Lt. Dave Gregory and Lt. Matt Balut, a delicate procedure that took close to an hour. "I don't know who that crane operator was, but he was fantastic," Maffitt said.
Emergency crews wanted to get Sanata to a hospital in Pittsburgh or Cleveland where medical teams could try to reattach his severed arm, but icy road conditions made travel too hazardous.
Bonnie Sanata, Bob's wife of 13 years, said there was no helicopter or ambulance service available to make the trip because of the wintry conditions. The arm reattachment would have had to be done within six hours.
Hospital stay: Unconscious and on a respirator, Sanata was eventually transported to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh, where he spent the next 17 days battling for survival, his wife and his three stepchildren standing by helplessly. "The doctors in Pittsburgh didn't think he'd make it," Maffitt said. "They were amazed."
Sanata underwent seven surgeries at UPMC, including insertion of a metal rod and pin in his right leg and several skin grafts.
Returning home in January, he began occupational therapy to learn how to function without his right arm and strengthening his right shoulder to prepare for a prosthesis.
What's next: Still in a wheelchair, Sanata said he'll begin physical therapy soon to learn to walk again.
"I'm going nuts in the house. I'm not a person who likes to rely on somebody all the time. And of course, I miss my arm," he said, then added with a wry smile, "Right now, I'd even take a hook."
He said his fellow CSC workers helped ease his recovery with cards and letters. And Maffitt has become a friend, visiting Sanata frequently and calling almost every day.
Maffitt said he's never before formed an attachment with someone he rescued, but Sanata is special.
"It's the attitude. That's what amazes me," Maffitt said. "Bob, Bonnie, the whole family. They just have such a great attitude, and they don't give up."