THE COMEBACK KID; TEEN-AGER BURNED IN EXPERIMENT RETURNS TO HIGH SCHOOL AS COMPASSIONATE SURVIVOR.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer Nearly killed in a science experiment gone awry, Chris James
That may be the hardest part. But the 17-year-old Hart High School Hart High School may refer to:
On his career plans: ``I'd like to work in front of the camera, but next time I'm on TV I want to do it in another way.'' Girls: ``I try to fight them off.'' His new image in the mirror: ``Oh, well.'' As he talked about his experience after school Tuesday, Chris grew serious about just how hard it has been. There have been times when he feels sorry for himself, feels anger and asks, ``Why me?'' ``I didn't want people to see me like this,'' Chris said in an interview Tuesday in his Stevenson Ranch Stevenson Ranch, California (in the 91381 ZIP Code) is a Los Angeles County, USA, unincorporated community west of Santa Clarita a few miles south of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The Stevenson Ranch fountain was redone in 2007. home. ``I didn't want people looking at me.'' But he found in the hospital the courage to face the world again. ``I went in and talked to this guy who had burns and I took off my mask and I said, See? It isn't so bad and I was a lot worse than you.'' Now, he said, he wants to help other burn victims survive the physical, emotional and mental damage. ``I can use it to educate people about how burn survivors feel, like about what you go through, how you deal with it.'' Dr. A. Richard Grossman Richard Grossman is the former co-director of the Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD). He is co-author of Taking Care of Business: Citizenship and the Charter of Incorporation. He lectures widely on issues of corporate power, law and democracy. , who led the team of surgeons and nurses that treated the teen 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. , described Chris as a fighter, and said the tremendous support from family, friends and the general public made a big difference. Most patients wouldn't have survived such extensive injury, yet Chris walked out of the hospital in December, cracking jokes - an inspiring hero to so many. ``Every parent is scared to death that this could have happened to (their) kid,'' Grossman said. ``Chris is the symbol of a survivor, whether he came from Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia (sä  `dē ərā`bēə, sou`–, sô–), officially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, kingdom (2005 est. pop. or the high school playing
field. People like to see that it's a happy ending.''
It was the day before Thanksgiving when Chris was enveloped en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" in invisible flame on (messaging, jargon) flame on - To begin or continue to flame. The punning reference to Marvel Comics's Human Torch is no longer widely recognised. The phrase "flame on" may actually precede the flame, in which case "flame off" will follow it. See rave, burble. the football field at Hart High in Newhall during a physics class experiment that involved the use of highly flammable methanol. Second- and third-degree burns third-degree burns npl → brûlures fpl au troisième degré third-degree burns third npl → Verbrennungen pl dritten Grades covered half his body - his face, his arms, his torso. ``I remember I was lying there,'' Chris said. ``Jesse (Honea) took his jacket off and beat me with it. I thought, gosh, I must be on fire. I heard everyone screaming everywhere. It was like a ball of fire. ``He saved my life. He's a good friend. He's a hero.'' Paramedics who rushed to the scene found Chris the most seriously hurt and unable to breathe after inhaling the burning methanol. County Paramedic par·a·med·ic n. A person who is trained to give emergency medical treatment or assist medical professionals. paramedic Frank Garcia Frank Garcia (born January 28, 1972 in Phoenix, Arizona) is currently an American football free agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers as the 132nd pick of the 1995 NFL Draft. He has also played for the St. administered an asthma drug to help him breathe and a tube was inserted to his lungs. ``He looked so helpless and in pain and he's a young kid,'' Garcia said. ``You relate it to your own kids, you move fast to help him, but all the time it's in the back of your mind: What if this were my kid?'' Chris was taken by helicopter in a seven-minute trip to the burn center, where surgeons worked swiftly and in concert to treat his burns. Six surgeons worked to remove charred skin, replacing it 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 and assessing injuries to 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 . ``We treated him aggressively. We pulled out all the stops,'' Grossman said. ``With the amount of burn damage to his body, his lungs, that first weekend, with hard work and with Hail Marys and Our Fathers, he got through it.'' A feeding tube feeding tube n. A flexible tube that is inserted through the pharynx and into the esophagus and stomach and through which liquid food is passed. was inserted into Chris' stomach to bypass his burned throat. The tube is gone now, but that and the skin grafts on his stomach make it hard for him to stand up straight. Recovery is slow, and his activity is limited because sunshine can damage his new skin. ``It's hard to feel progress. It's slow, and I feel like crap every day,'' he said. ``But I want to get out and play soccer.'' There was no fanfare at school Monday - the way he wanted it. ``Not that many people noticed,'' he said. ``I just walked in and sat down.'' In June, Chris will graduate with his class. In the summer he plans to begin working out in a gym where his new skin will be safe from the sun and in the fall he will go to college. To his mother, Carolyn James, the outpouring of public support sustained the family and touched her heart. ``I could never thank all the people - people we didn't know, people we did know,'' she said. ``They prayed, they gave blood. I don't have the words to express how that made me feel, how grateful I am.'' And as she looks at her son back home, she offers only one explanation. ``Really, God deserves the credit for why he is sitting here, why he looks so good.'' CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO (color) Carolyn James credits God for the recovery of her son, Chris, from burns suffered during a school experiment in November. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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