VEEYTD LITTLE BLAIZE SURVIVES SEVERE SCALD BURN (NAPSA)—WhenBlaize Tubaugh was 13 monthsold, she was taking a bath with her two-year-old sister whoaccidentally turned on the hot water. Her sister was big enough to get out of the tub when the water got too hot, butlittle Blaize was not as lucky. Blaize received third-degree scald burns on 82 percent of her tiny body. The water was later determined to have reached about 167 F. When shewaslifted out of the water, her skin literally came off her body. Within a day of being rushed to a local hospital, Blaize was taken to the Cincinnati Shriners Hospital on a jet. Blaize’s chanceof survival at that time was so slim that, according to hospital staff members, the referring hospital called and asked why the physicians at Shriners Hospital didn’t call to notify them when Blaize died. They were stunned to learn that she had survived and been released. It becamevery evident over the next couple of weeks why Blaize survived...she is a fighter. “Her positive attitude, along with the environment at Shriners Hospitals and the unbelievable medical care she received, saved herlife,” said Blaize’s mother, Betty. For six months, Blaize was in the constant care of the physicians and staff at Shriners, and her mom stayed at the hospital in the Family Room.“It was heartbreaking to see mylittle girl in so much pain,” said Betty. “A nurse at Shriners named Lynn was myrock. If it wasn’t for her care and understanding I don’t know if I could have madeit through, and Blaize was counting on me. Thank Godfor the staff at Shriners Hospitals.” WhenBlaize wasfinally able to go home, Betty spent most of each day helping her little girl with therapy three times a day, and taking a cab with Blaize to the hospital two times per day. This schedule lasted about 9 months. In fact, Betty couldn’t work for an entire two years after Blaize’s _+ halted It became evident over the next couple of weeks why Blaize survived. Sheis a fighter. accident because of the attention and therapy she required. “Every time I did therapy on Blaize I cried because she wascrying from the pain it caused her. I had to keep telling myself that I was helping her to get better,” Betty recalled. “Five years later, we still have to do therapy with Blaize, but now her older brothers and sisters can help. To this day she starts crying when she knows it’s time to take a bath.” As a result of the antibiotics Blaize had to take to prevent infection, she suffered a partial hearing loss and now wearsa hearingaid. She is a happy, outgoing six-yearold kindergartener who spends half her day in a mainstream class and the other half in a class for hearing impaired children. When she started kindergarten, Lori Anderson, a teacher at Shriners Hospital in Cincinnati, went to school to help educate the other children in her classes about Blaize’s appearance. According to her mom, Blaize was very cooperative and once the kids touched herscars, they felt better and weren’t afraid anymore. Although Blaize has undergone several procedures and skin grafts, she still has several more to go. She will be in the care of Shriners Hospitals for many years to come.
