Expansion of Care Hits Close to Home for Young Burn Survivor

Eight-year-old Dominic’s feet don’t touch the ground after he climbs into a large office chair at Shriners Children’s Charleston and settles in for an interview with a local news station.

A playful cowlick parting the front of his hair and adorable smile draw much more attention than the burn scar peeking from the top of his collared shirt as he begins to tell his story.

At his sister’s birthday party less than a year before, Dominic was excited to roast s'mores around a backyard bonfire when a devastating accident stopped the celebration. Suffering from severe burns to his neck, arms, torso and legs, Dominic’s grandmother wrapped him tight in her arms as his father waited in anguish for the paramedics to arrive.

“I remember that I couldn’t talk,” Dominic said. “I had to be rushed [to the hospital] in the ambulance.”
For the next three months, Dominic received care at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.

“He was placed on ECMO twice in the first six weeks he was there,” Denny, his grandmother, said. ECMO – extracorporeal membrane oxygenation – is a life-support machine used in dire cases to remove carbon dioxide from a patient’s blood when their heart or lungs are failing. “The second time was for an infection in his lungs, and we really didn’t know if he was going to make it. After he fought past that, he really turned a corner and started getting much better.”

When burn patients like Dominic are discharged from the hospital, continued treatment is necessary. Shriners Children’s Charleston – a collaboration between MUSC and Shriners Children’s – offers this next step in specialty care, including physical therapy and scar management.

“The heart and soul that the care team pours into their patients is outstanding,” Denny said. “They are very personalized in their approach, and not only do they care for the patient – they care for the family, too.”

Making access to ongoing treatment easier for patients and honoring Shriners Children’s mission to offer care regardless of a family’s ability to pay or insurance status are both hallmarks of the clinic. The spectrum of care includes more minor burn injuries as well.

Today, Dominic runs and plays like every kid his age and – as he grows – his care plan at Shriners Children’s Charleston will grow with him.