People need to respect gasoline and other flammable
liquids, storing and handling them in appropriate
manners to avoid burn injuries.That is one of the
messages that Dan Caro, a local burn victim, other
Shriners and the Shriners Hospitals for Children are
emphasizing this week for Burn Awareness Week. The
week kicks off a yearlong campaign focused on
preventing gasoline burn injuries primarily through education.
Caro, a professional drummer living in Lacombe but
planning a Mandeville move, was a toddler when he
sustained third-degree burns on 76 percent of his body
surface in an accident at his Terrytown home. The
2-year-old lost all of his fingers, left toes and ears
and was permanently disfigured after the water heater
pilot light -- an open flame -- ignited vapors from a
gasoline container knocked over in an enclosed garage.
The doctors who initially treated him thought death
was imminent, but specialists who saw him three days
later at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston
assessed survival odds at 50 percent. Treatment
included dozens of surgeries during a four-month
hospital stay and the ensuing months until he turned
18 years old.
"The Shriners took care of me and my family, and they
never asked for a penny," Caro said.
Although he did not experience developmental delays
and was "on level" in academics, Caro faced other
challenges related to his marred physical appearance,
especially as an adolescent at school. "I lived a
fairly hard life at times," he said.
The youth had a knack for rhythm, but his previous
injuries kept him from pursuing a brass instrument,
like his father and two older brothers, or a woodwind.
He, instead, learned to play drums, relying on a
surgically-reconfigured "thumb" on one hand and the
assistance of a tennis wrist band and several rubber
bands on the other one.
"Most people don't get rejected before they get to
audition for certain bands," he said, noting that he
initially encountered discrimination. "I had to be
very bold and forward to my approach in life."
After graduating from Fontainebleau High School, the
music-lover took courses on scholarship at Loyola and
Southeastern Louisiana universities and the University
of New Orleans . He is a traveling, freelance drummer
and a motivational speaker who has addressed civic
groups and schools.
"I have such a positive outlook on life. I have so
much respect for other people," he said, noting
qualities that he might not have had had he not gone
through a burn victim ordeal. "I look at this as a
blessing, a tremendous gift."
Caro and Chris Knoblauch, a fellow Shriner and St.
Tammany Fire Protection District 4 fire captain in
Mandeville, served on the National Burn Awareness Week
2008 Task Force. Knoblauch also is a member of several
professional associations that promote fire safety and
prevention.
"Gas has only one use: to fuel engines," he said. "Gas
should be stored in an approved gasoline container in
a well-ventilated outside storage area and not near a
hot water heater."
Caro said gasoline containers should be stored out of
reach of young children.
There are an estimated 10,000 pediatric burn injuries
for those younger than 19 years old annually in the
United States. Most gasoline burn injuries could have
been prevented, according to a Burn Awareness Week
news release.
Shriners Hospitals for Children has treated more than
800 children for acute burns caused by ignition of a
highly-flammable material, such as gasoline, since
2002 in North America. Of those children, 229 patients
were under 7 years old and 584 patients were 8 to 18
years of age, the release states.
Knoblauch said teens are at a high risk for gasoline
and other flammable substance burns, having been
exposed to Internet videos of peers and others
misusing gasoline without suffering consequences.
Shriners Hospitals for Children offers a brief video
on a teen severely burned playing with gasoline,
gasoline safety and burn prevention lesson plans for
students in kindergarten through third grade, coloring
books, stickers and other educational materials.
A Consumer Products Safety Commission report cited
that 1,270 children were treated in emergency rooms in
one year for injuries resulting from the misuse or
improper storage of gasoline, he said.
A network of 22 pediatric hospitals in the United
States, Canada and Mexico, Shriners Hospitals for
Children provides specialized care for orthopedic
conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip
and palate.
All services are offered at no charge.
Shriners Hospitals specializing in burn care are in
Boston, Cincinnati, Galveston, Texas, and Sacramento,
Calif. The Sacramento facility also treats pediatric
orthopedic and spinal cord injuries. More than 45,000
children worldwide have received burn care. "The
survival rate for children with burns over 50 percent
of their body surface has doubled since the first
Shriners Hospital for burns opened," the release
states. "Today, patients with burns over 90 percent of
the body routinely survive and thrive." For
information, visit the Web site www.burnawarenessweek.org.
Published on NOLA.com Friday, February 1, 2008 2:20p.m.
Published in The Times-Picayune Sunday, February 3, 2009
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