A Terrytown youngster with burns over 75% of his body was airlifted to a Shriner’s burn center in Boston Thursday night.
Danny Caro, 2 ½ year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. John Caro of 640 National Ave., suffered the burns Wednesday when gasoline exploded in the garage of his home.
Marilyn Caro was mowing the lawn when she heard a “swooshing” noise, and ran to investigate, neighbors said.
She saw smoke rolling out of the side door of the garage, and the main sliding door entrance closed.
Neighbors said she tried to turn on the garage light to see through the smoke, but couldn’t find the light switch.
She ran to the front of the house looking for Danny, but couldn’t find him and “just stood there and screamed,” another neighbor said.
When neighbors ran to her aid, she broke away, went back to the garage side door, where the smoke had lessened, and pulled Danny from the building.
A Terrytown Volunteer Fire Company emergency unit gave first aid to the child and took him to Charity Hospital.
Dr. Matthew Indeck, a Tulane University pediatric surgical resident at Charity, worked throughout the day and night with Danny, performing necessary treatment and surgery.
In between, he contacted members of the Jerusalem Shrine Temple.
That’s when Jack Cable, chairman, and Henry Guildry, of the temple’s hospital committee, went to work.
They made calls to various burn units and were successful with the Boston Shriner’s Burn Unit.
“They told us they had room if we could get him to Boston,” Cable said. “Transporting such a seriously burned child is a complicated thing, and we went all the way. We called everyone we knew and finally got approval from the U.S. Surgeon General to use the Air Force plane, which in effect is a flying intensive care unit.”
When the flight was set, Indeck, Dr. Stan Hall and Laurie McGraw and Catherine Indeck, both intensive care nurses, volunteered their services to stay with Danny until the medical team in Boston took over.
The Air Force Medi-Vac plane was scheduled to arrive at the New Orleans International Airport at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on its flight from Scott Air Force Base, III. It arrived about 20 minutes early.
The Charity Hospital ambulance carrying Danny, his parents and the medical team arrived at the side of the plane right on time, 6:30 p.m.
The boy was put aboard by way of a specially designed ramp on the left side of the plane, and treatment, which had continued in the ambulance, was resumed immediately inside the plane.
Mr. and Mrs. Caro also boarded the plane and accompanied their son to Boston.
Both parents declined to talk of the accident.
“All that can be done for the boy will be done at the Boston Center,” Cable said.
“We sent a girl up there about two years ago with 100% burns. Everyone had given up on her, but she has recovered, and still is receiving treatment. The doctors there say she is almost completely recovered.”
“And we’ve sent others to various centers. It’s really not as unusual as you might think. We don’t seek publicity, and often don’t get it. But we are proud of our program. This treatment will not cost the parents anything. If they hadn’t been allowed to board the hospital plane, we would have provided regular air travel for them.”
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