On Thursday, appearing with Ikeda at a news conference, Nash said she would like to help the burn patients, when they're ready, by sharing her experience in the same way she was encouraged by burn victims who visited her during her recovery. Today, she looks virtually unscathed despite burns to her face and hands. She said she had to learn to walk and talk again because of the extent of her injuries. Nash recovered for more than two months before receiving two years of outpatient physical therapy. "As the patient emerges and their wounds heal, we become more aggressive in terms of getting them mobilized and returning them to society," Ikeda said. The final phase, which starts around three months after injury and can last more than a year, may involve more reconstructive surgery, and will probably include physical therapy and psychiatric help. They may even take postage-stamp-size portions of the patient's skin and grow samples in a laboratory. They look for unburned parts of the patient's body, but could use skin from a cadaver or a pig. Infection is still a threat, but surgeons may graft tissue acquired from any of a number of sources over the next several weeks. The San Bruno patients are now in this phase. The patient then moves to the second phase of treatment, which includes multiple surgeries to remove dead tissue and graft skin, said Ikeda, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Clyde Ikeda, Bothin Burn Center's medical director, described what seriously burn patients typically endure.ĭuring the first 72 hours, the burn center team's goal is to stabilize the patient, making sure he or she can breathe and has enough fluids. Speaking in general terms Thursday to protect the patients' privacy, Dr. The fourth patient, a woman in her 80s, was released Wednesday in good condition, San Francisco General officials said Thursday. One patient, described as a man in his 50s, is in critical condition while a woman in her 80s is in fair condition and a woman in her 60s has been upgraded from serious to fair. One of the patients is Joseph Ruigomez, the 19-year-old who was badly burned while trying to rescue his 20-year-old girlfriend, Jessica Morales, who died in the explosion.įour other blast victims were sent to San Francisco General Hospital, three of whom remain hospitalized. Three of the victims have burns over 50 percent of their bodies, and a fourth has burns over 40 percent. Hospital officials, citing privacy laws and the requests of family members, declined to identify the patients or their conditions other than to say they're all in stable condition in what is expected to be a lengthy and complex recovery process. 9 natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno are being treated. Francis' Bothin Burn Center in San Francisco, the largest and most specialized burn center in the Bay Area, where four of the most seriously burned victims of the Sept. "The moment of my explosion was probably the worst day of my life, but the moments after were probably the best," said Nash, explaining how fortunate she was for ending up at St. Doctors had placed her in a drug-induced coma to save her life. Francis Memorial Hospital 2 1/2 weeks later. Nash talked to the ambulance crew, sharing vital information such as her medications and husband's phone number, but all she really remembers is waking up at St.
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