When construction worker Timothy Gould of Sterling entered the burn unit in Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood eight months ago, his strong body burned over 90 percent, doctors were blunt about his chances of survival.
“My early discussions with the family were that the injuries likely would be fatal,” said Dr. Richard Gamelli, chief of the burn unit. “Their attitude was, `He’s tough. I think he’d like to do everything.'”
The Loyola burn team used everything at its disposal, from skin grafts and cultured skin to surgeries and the latest drug treatments.
On Tuesday, Gould, 36, left the burn unit to continue his recovery in the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. It was an event even his doctors called a miracle because Gould had less than a 5 percent chance of survival. He can now move 60 feet with a walker but must work on stretching and strengthening to increase his endurance.
“There was never a time I wanted to give up,” in spite of the pain and numerous medical treatments, said Gould.
He and several family members attended a breakfast Tuesday held by Loyola to say goodbye to Gould, whose scars are mostly hidden under clothing. He thanked nurses, doctors and other hospital employees.
Last July, Gould was on his property using a cutting torch to open a metal drum he had thought was empty. The torch ignited a solvent in the drum, severely burning Gould.
“We didn’t realize [the injuries were] that bad,” said his wife, Diane. “He was talking to me.”
In Loyola, they learned that Gould had sustained third-degree and to a lesser extent second-degree burns over 93 percent of his body. Any severe burn is traumatic to the body and puts stress on other organs, which can be fatal if the organs cannot withstand the pressure, Gamelli said.
In addition, because the skin protects the rest of the body from infections, losing so much of the skin surface to burns increases the chance for serious infections, doctors said.
Doctors first stabilized Gould, giving him medication for the pain. They then began covering his body with new skin. Because he did not have enough of his usable skin to cover his injuries, doctors took a small culture of Gould’s skin and grew it in the lab for a few weeks.
Doctors also used artificial skin, Gamelli said.
But it was five months–during which there were infections, surgeries and an episode when his kidneys stopped functioning–before doctors began believing Gould would survive.
Doctors attribute Gould’s recovery to his otherwise healthy body, his determination and his family’s presence and support.
Because Loyola is a two-hour drive from the family’s home in Sterling, Diane Gould, a teacher, stayed with relatives in Plainfield and went to the hospital every day. Her parents took in the couple’s three children, ages 9, 6 and 5, and friends and family took turns sitting with Gould in the hospital.
Staff at the Rehabilitation Institute will give Gould more intense physical therapy to help him regain skills such as dressing and feeding himself.
“They say it could be a few months [in the institute], but we think Tim will beat that,” said Diane Gould.
