Michael's Story

Michael was burned on April 27, 1996 at his home in Caledonia, Minnesota. He was rushed by Mayo One helicopter to Regions Hospital Burn Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. He went to the operating room 13 times. Michael wore plastic splints to help him recover. There was a benefit held for him in Caledonia to cover the costs of his medical bills. As an added surprise at this fund-raiser, a helicopter from Gundersen-Lutheran Hospital came to show the people that this was something similar to what Michael traveled in. When this story was written Michael was in third grade at Caledonia Elementary School. He loves to work on mechanical things and plays with the family dog, Megg. Even though he had third degree burns on over 45 percent of his body he acts like a normal nine year old boy. This is Michaels Story:

There once was a little boy named Michael. He was playing outside one day when he got too close to a fire. His clothes started on fire and they burned very fast. His older brother pushed him to the ground to put out the flame and then he ran to the house to call 911.

An ambulance came to get Michael. They realized he was hurt very badly and they called for a helicopter. The helicopter took him to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since they lived four hours away from the hospital his parents and his brother Cory rode in a small airplane so they could get there quicker.

Before Michael got to the hospital he had trouble breathing so they put a tube in to help him breathe better. This is called a respirator. When he got to the hospital they gave him a lot of medicine so he wouldn't hurt and so he would sleep.

When Michael got to the hospital there were a lot of big machines around him. They looked scary but they were actually good machines. They kept track of his temperature, his heart, his lungs, and how much liquid he was getting. He even had a special bed to help him get better.

There were lots of doctors and nurses there to take care of Michael and to help him get better. People were very worried about him because he was hurt so badly. He was burned from his chin to his knee. He had a lot of surgeries to help him get better.

Michael met some very special people while he was in the hospital. One of them was a nurse named Ray. Ray had been burned when he was young so he knew what it was like for Michael. Michael became friends with the people at the hospital.

Michael had a hard time moving his arms and his legs. Everyday he went to something called therapy that helped him move like normal. Sometimes he rode an exercise bike or jumped rope to try and move like regular kids do. Therapy was hard work and some days he didn't want to go but he knew he had to.

Therapy was mostly stretching exercises to get his muscles working again. He had to go to therapy for many hours every day. He also had contests, went bowling, and he had to take lots of baths to help his skin heal.

Michael got burned during the last week of April so he was still in school. To help him catch up with his schoolwork and be with his class he had to have a tutor come in and help him learn what he had missed. The tutor did a good job because in the fall he moved onto third grade with others his age.

He spent his ninth birthday in the hospital. They had a big party there with all of his family. A lot of people sent Michael cards to try and cheer Michael up. A little girl named Gabrielle wrote to him almost every day. After he got out of the hospital he finally got to meet her. There were some days that Michael was very sad and other days he was happy.

Michael had to spend most of his time in bed so he could get better faster. A lady named Dani came to see Michael everyday. She played games with him to try and keep him in a good mood.

He had to wear special tight clothes that kept his skin smooth. He also had to wear a plastic splint or covering on his chin and neck. Michael needed to eat lots of food to give his body the energy it needed to heal quickly. Sometimes he didn't want to eat because of all the medicine he was taking.

Since Michael's family lived four hours away from the hospital they didn't get to see a lot of each other. His parents stayed in St. Paul for a long time but his brother Cory stayed in his hometown with some family friends. It was hard on them to be separated for so long and they usually talked to each other on the phone.

After two months in the hospital Michael got to go home. He was very happy to go home because he got to see his family dog that was a puppy when he left for the hospital. He had been in the hospital so long that she had grown to almost her full size.

Right after Michael got out of the hospital he had to go to a town near him in La Crosse, Wisconsin to get his therapy. He was there for three hours everyday. Pretty soon he didn't need to do this anymore because he was doing so well.

It took Michael a long time but now he can do stuff most people can. He had to work very hard to do simple things like walking and moving his arms. He even got the Presidential Physical Fitness Award because of the work he did.

At the presentation of his award his doctor from the hospital came to celebrate Michael's success. Dr. Solem and his wife Pat, also a nurse that helped Michael get better, spent some time with Michael and his family. They even got to go bowling while they were there.

When Michael gets a check-up for his burns he had to travel all the way to the hospital. This is a very long ride in the car. The more time goes on the less he will have to go for check-ups.

After Michael had been home for awhile when he turned to his parents and said, "I wish I had never gotten near that fire." "It was a lot of work to get better!"

End Note:
This story was originally written as an assignment for a tenth grade English class. It had to meet certain criteria which shaped the way the story was written. It was suppose to be easily understood by a seven year old child. The emphasis was on the story itself and not the illustrations.