Articles Posted in Medical

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Over the past month, there have been so many stories about people who died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. But here is a story that appeared in the New York Daily News recently that is an excellent example of a survivor who is getting on with his life, and all burn victims can learn from him as they fight to get through their physical and psychological injuries.

Tax lawyer Harry Waizer was ready to get to work when he took the elevator up to his World Trade Center office just before 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001. Harry was 50 years old at the time, and the father of three children. If he had been just two minutes later to work that day, he would have been able to go home that night and tell his family how he escaped. Instead, he became a victim of severe burns that affect him 10 years later, and which will affect him his whole life.

Harry managed to get out of the building a few minutes after the first plane struck his building, but he was severely injured by fire across his entire body. When the plane hit the top of the building, the elevator he was riding in suddenly went into a freefall and burst into flames–not once, but twice.

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A lawsuit has been filed by the parents of a Texas teenager who suffered severe burns that were allegedly caused by a defective gas container.

The lawsuit was filed by Kenneth and Pam Crouch on behalf of their daughter, Brooke Crouch, on July 29 in the Eastern District of Texas, against Blitz U.S.A. Inc.

According to the complaint, a friend of Brooke attempted to reignite a campfire by pouring gasoline on it from a Blitz gas can. When the vapors outside the can ignited, it caused the can to explode, causing Brooke to suffer third-degree burns.

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Paramedics in the Buffalo suburb of Tonawanda, NY have a new tool to help them save victims of smoke inhalation.

In late August, the paramedics announced that their ambulances will now carry supplies of the drug Cyanokit, which works to help those suffering from smoke inhalation by counteracting the chemicals in toxic gases and smoke. Other ambulance units around the country will likely do the same thing over time.

Paramedics are calling it a life-saving treatment. “It’s to benefit the citizens of our town and the firefighters who put their lives on the line, should anyone be overcome by smoke and the toxic effects of cyanide that’s in smoke,” said one paramedic.

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On August 5 in a small Ohio town, a 64-year-old woman died after a fire started in her apartment within an 11-story senior apartment complex.

The woman lived in a seventh-floor apartment, where investigators believe the fire originated from a candle in the living room. Firefighter responded at 10:38 p.m. after the building’s fire alarm went off. When engines arrived, there was smoke visibly coming from the seventh floor. The fire was contained to the woman’s apartment and was knocked down quickly. Firefighters found the unconscious woman in the apartment and carried her down a ladder, witnesses said. “It’s very tragic. The guys are pretty broken up about it,” said the fire department’s chief.

An autopsy determined that the woman died of smoke inhalation. What’s more, numerous other residents of the senior complex were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, with a few taken to a hospital. The American Red Cross found shelter for up to 30 other seventh-floor residents displaced by the fire. But many stayed with relatives instead.

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Here’s a story that provides more than one lesson in why you need to protect yourself with the best sunblock to avoid severe burns as you enjoy the late-summer sun.

In Texas, a man was hospitalized with second-degree burns when he fell asleep while outside in the sun without his shirt on. Police say it is likely that the man was intoxicated by alcohol or another substance, which is why the pain from his sunburn did not wake him up. And when he did finally wake up, his pain was so severe that he jumped into the lake next to the pier he was sunbathing on–and then had to be rescued!

Police officers were initially called by someone who saw the burning man on the pier, but by the time police arrived the man had jumped into the water. The police notified the local EMS/ambulance service, and that team successfully pulled the victim from the water. But they immediately noticed the severity of the victim’s burns, which included blisters all over his body from the 100-degree heat.

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In Nashua, NH in mid-August, a 48-year-old man was transported to a hospital following an unusual incident. It seems that a fire broke out not in his apartment, but rather just outside the entryway to his apartment, around 11 p.m. By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had been partially extinguished by residents. Furthermore, the fire was extinguished even before it could spread beyond the entryway.

Nonetheless, the man was trapped in his apartment because there was only one door that led outside, and the fire in that doorway caused smoke to fill his apartment, resulting in the man suffering poisonous smoke inhalation.

In any situation where there is only one door out of a building, windows should be considered as alternate fire escape routes, and rope ladders or some other means of getting out that window and onto the ground should be stored within reach of that window. Also, all occupants of a dwelling–including children–should know about these alternate escape routes and how to use the nearby items to get out of windows safely in case the doors are blocked by fire or smoke.

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A case is making its way through the Iowa civil courts this month that involves the potential legal liability of a day-care center where a toddler suffered severe burns.

The parents and grandmother of the severely burned toddler have sued the owners of an Ankeny, IA child-care center, accusing the couple of “willful and wanton disregard for the rights or safety” of a boy whose diaper was changed within reach of a crock pot filled with very hot water.

Polk County court papers filed earlier this week accuse Bryan and Sue Jansen, owners of a company doing business as Ankeny Christian Child Care, of negligence for leaving the container within reach of where Seth Brown was having his diaper changed on Aug. 20, 2009.

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As a follow-up to my August 9 blog, I found a late-July article in The Los Angeles Times about 19-year-old Derek Thomas, a burn victim whose strong determination, positive attitude and faith have helped him to get out of the hospital and go home even though he was given just a 1 percent chance of survival when he suffered third-degree burns last year.

Nearly 300 people in Encinitas, CA welcomed home Derek, who was burned over 85 percent of his body in a car crash a year ago. The crowd of friends that gathered from the local high school, church and the YMCA where Derek once worked lined up along the driveway at Scripps Rehabilitation Services, where Derek is expected to continue physical therapy for several more weeks.

Upon his arrival from the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital & Medical Center the crowd began cheering, shaking pom-poms and waving signs that said, “We love you D-Rock!” and “I am not a body. I am a soul!”

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In St. Paul, MN last month, a 19-year-old man named Antoine Willis was physically and psychologically injured when his mother’s boyfriend deliberately set him on fire after an argument.

Much of his body still hurts from the severe burns he suffered, and Antoine still has nightmares about the attack. “Sometimes I’m even scared to go to sleep because I feel like he is going to try and come back and finish what he started. It hurts, emotionally and physically,” Antoine said. He has these nightmares even though the mother’s boyfriend is still in jail.

But while the severe burns slowly heal, Antoine recently suffered a new wound. Money from a bank account that was set up to help him pay for medical bills has gone missing. Antoine believes that his uncle and his mother are responsible for the money being gone. More than $4,000 was donated by strangers who wanted to help Antoine, but now at least $2,000 is missing.

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As a burned patient you have certain rights being in a hospital or a physician’s clinic. These rights are available to all patients. Many hospitals in New York and other states have patient advocates, their duty is to help you if you have any problrm during your path of treatment.

Your rights include the following:

  1. The right to be informed of all your rights.
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