BURNED BOY GETS GIFT OF SURGERIES.

Byline: Susan Goldsmith Daily News Staff Writer

There is little left on Thomas Ben's lanky, adolescent body that is untouched by fire.

He's covered in thick scars - all the result of coming too close to an arcing 13,000-volt power line while climbing on an abandoned building in the fields behind his Kauai home two years ago.

In that one instant, the 12-year-old boy's life was changed forever.

On Thursday, his life began to change again.

He flew to Los Angeles with his father to undergo the first round of reconstructive surgeries being donated by the Grossman Burn Center at the Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center.

``I'm excited about this because I want to hurry up and see what I'm going to look like,'' said Thomas, who wears his silky brown hair tied back in a ponytail. ``I tell myself I will be normal again and it takes time.''

After the accident, Thomas spent the next seven months in a coma, pushing the limits of what it means to be human as his charred body was unrecognizable even to his family.

Now - two years later - he has gained some of his old life back, having fought hard for the small victories of walking, eating and talking again.

While vacationing in Hawaii, Dr. A. Richard Grossman, a plastic surgeon and medical director of the Grossman Burn Center, read a newspaper story about the boy's plight and made arrangements to see him.

``When I first met Thomas in Hawaii last year he was one of the most severely burned and scarred people I've ever seen, but I can tell you his spirit is indomitable,'' Grossman said. ``I was so captivated by him I came back and appealed to the burn foundation to help.''

Grossman, a world-renowned burn specialist, pledged to donate all 25 of the surgeries Thomas will need over the next two years to reconstruct his face and repair other parts of his body.

To help defray the more than $1 million in medical and related costs for Thomas' care at the burn center, Grossman made a video about the young boy.

The Ventura County Community Foundation - a private, nonprofit group - saw the production recently and pledged $24,000 toward air fare. Grossman has convinced donors that the boy should fly first class and be spared some of the staring he often is subjected to when he is in public.

When the electricity coursed through the boy's body, it blinded him in one eye, severely burned his face and body, and left one of his arms partially paralyzed.

Doctors initially were pessimistic about his chances for survival. But in the two years since the accident, Thomas has made a recovery that doctors call remarkable.

He can walk and even run. He's returned to school and now is dealing with the emotional scars that accompany the physical ones.

``When kids are mean I just think to myself one day they'll be sorry for being mean to me,'' said Thomas, who is now 14.

He becomes philosophical when talking about the physical ordeal he faces.

``The pain is on and off. Sometimes I cry and sometimes I pray to God to make it stop,'' Thomas said.

During a break from a game of tag outside the hospital, Kendall Tanouye put his arm around his big brother Thomas and said he'd learned a lot from him about strength.

``He is one of the strongest people in the whole world,'' said Kendall, 10, Thomas' half brother. ``He's stronger than Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mike Tyson.''

Thomas' mother, Brenda Tanouye, who lives in Las Vegas and has spent much of the past two years in Hawaii at her son's bedside, said Thomas' feisty spirit is very much alive underneath the scars.

``This kid is a miracle,'' said Tanouye, who is divorced from Thomas' father. ``His outsides are hampered, but he's the same boy and he's still a little prankster.''

In the next three weeks, Thomas will undergo surgeries every Monday and Thursday, Grossman said. Every few months over the next two years, the boy will return to Sherman Oaks for more operations.

Thomas' father, Renold Ben, quit his job as a building plan examiner to help his son. It has been an emotionally trying two years, Ben said.

``It's been grueling and stressful and I had many anxiety attacks, but he pulled through,'' Ben said. ``He's a fighter and is a strong kid and deserves something for that.''

To make a donation to the Thomas Ben medical fund, contact the Children's Burn Foundation at Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Thomas Ben, right, with his father Re nold, accidentally touched a 13,000-volt power line.

(2) Thomas Ben, left, talks with his half brothers Kameren, center, and Kendall Tanouye on Thursday.

David Sprague/Daily News