TEEN LEAVES BURN CENTER: `I FEEL GREAT' : STUDENT INJURED AT SCHOOL DEFIES ODDS WITH RECOVERY.Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer Leaving the hospital where he spent more than a month recovering from life-threatening burns, Christopher James Christopher James may refer to:
It was a moment of pure joy in the middle a miraculous recovery from burns to his face, hands and windpipe windpipe: see trachea. caused when a science experiment went awry in November. With youthful exuberance, James, 17, exchanged high-fives with friends and exulted in his recuperation recuperation /re·cu·per·a·tion/ (-koo?per-a´shun) recovery of health and strength. recuperation, n the process of recovering health, strength, and mental and emotional vigor. . ``I feel great. When I go home I'm going to have a party,'' James said, beaming. His mother, Carolyn, was more subdued. ``It's hard to put into words,'' she told reporters Tuesday during a reception at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital Sherman Oaks Hopital (SOH) is an 153 bed acute care facility in Sherman Oaks, California, USA and is home of world renowned the Grossman Burn Center. SOH is owned and operated by Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. . She compared his release to his birth. ``It's better than when we brought him home for the first time.'' James and two other Hart High School Hart High School may refer to:
Methyl alcohol, wood spirits, and Methanol Methanol has been considered as a fuel, mainly in combination with gasoline. used in the experiment exploded. Doctors said there was a chance James wouldn't survive the third-degree burns third-degree burns npl → brûlures fpl au troisième degré third-degree burns third npl → Verbrennungen pl dritten Grades sustained to his face, hands and upper body in the experiment gone awry. And even if he did, burn victims can suffer so much psychological trauma Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. When that trauma leads to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, damage can be measured in physical changes inside the brain and to brain chemistry, which affect the person's it alters their personalities. Go tell that to James. When the young man was released Tuesday, he not only looked and sounded exuberant - but he possessed the same wise-cracking humor friends say pulled him and them through the ordeal. ``I didn't think they liked me but I guess they do,'' James joked of the outpouring of support from loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl . On a more serious note, the Hart High School senior offered thanks to his family, to God and to Jesse Honea, 17, crediting him for saving his life. Honea threw James to the ground, putting out the fire. ``I think personally it's made me a stronger person,'' said James, who lives in Stevenson Ranch. ``Normally, you don't go through something like this - so I'm now a stronger person inside.'' At first, doctors feared his vocal cords vocal cords: see larynx. Vocal cords The pair of elastic, fibered bands inside the human larynx. The cords are covered with a mucous membrane and pass horizontally backward from the thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple) to insert on might have been burned beyond repair since he had inhaled superheated su·per·heat tr.v. su·per·heat·ed, su·per·heat·ing, su·per·heats 1. To heat excessively; overheat. 2. air during the accident. However, James' throat has healed well, evidenced Tuesday as the young man fielded rounds of questions from reporters. Leading surgeon Dr. Peter H. Grossman called James ``an amazing man'' who maintained such a strong spirit he wound up comforting his visitors. ``There was a time . . . when I wasn't sure if Chris was going to survive,'' Grossman said. ``I wasn't sure. But Chris was.'' Tuesday's cake and punch party at the hospital drew a small group of close friends and relatives. Friends gave him a compact-disc player and a radio in the shape of a monkey. Looking confident in a baseball cap, James' facial scars appeared to have healed well, except for reddening across his face. He's expected to return to high school and he plans to attend college. After the news conference, James and a few of his buddies were whisked away in a dark blue limo to a party awaiting him at home. James' humor was little surprise to his friends. ``If you know Chris he's always like that. Even in the worst possible situation he's cracking jokes,'' said his friend Ivan Pecel, 17. James' Stevenson Ranch neighbors posted signs on his street and at his house welcoming him home. Balloons were tied to his street sign and giant greetings hung on the garage of the family home. Friends and neighbors checked in, elated that the teen was home and showing good signs of recovery. The day after the accident, doctors began removing dead skin and replacing it with grafts, covering the burns with cadaver cadaver /ca·dav·er/ (kah-dav´er) a dead body; generally applied to a human body preserved for anatomical study.cadav´ericcadav´erous ca·dav·er n. skin. Grossman said James will require continued therapy to help him regain full use of his upper body, arms and hands and that he likely will undergo reconstructive surgery reconstructive surgery n. Plastic surgery. reconstructive surgery, n surgery to rebuild a structure for functional or esthetic reasons. on his face and hands. The hospital has set up a fund for James to help the family pay for his future needs. Donations can be made to Sherman Oaks Hospital Foundation - Chris James Fund, c/o Sherman Oaks Hospital, 4929 Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Daily News Staff Writer Patricia Farrell Aidem contributed to this report. CAPTION(S): 5 Photos PHOTO (1--Color--Ran in Valley Edition only) Friends cheer burn victim Christopher James as he walks out of the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital on his own. (2--Ran in Valley Edition only) Christopher James waves to well-wishers from the sunroof of the limousine that took him home. John Lazar/Daily News (3--Color--Ran in SAC Edition only) Hart High's Christopher James cuts a cake Tuesday at his going home party at the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital. John Lazar/Daily News (4--Color--Ran in SAC Edition only) Balloons and a welcome home sign adorn a pole in front of Christopher James' home in Stevenson Ranch. James spent 35 days at the Grossman Burn Center after a physics lesson accident. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News (5--Ran in SAC Edition only) Friends line up to give burn victim Christopher James high-fives Tuesday upon his release from the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks. John Lazar/Daily News |
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