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REDFIELD, S.D. (AP) — A Redfield boy has made big strides in his recovery from devastating burn injuries.
Tyler Schultz, 9, keeps clearing hurdles in his recovery from being badly burned in May.
Tyler was burned when he and his brother, Evan, were at a friend's house. The boys were trying to use Diesel 911 to ignite sticks.
Diesel 911 is a product used to liquefy gelled diesel fuel and de-ice frozen fuel filters. Spink County Sheriff Kevin Schurch told the American News (http://bit.ly/1Et0ztv ) that the Diesel 911 was stored safely and it appeared that the boys climbed up to access the product.
Tyler caught on fire, causing third-degree burns over much of his body.
The quick thinking of his brother Evan, then 6, saved his life. Evan grabbed a garden hose and extinguished the flames.
"Evan did such an amazing job putting him out," said Amanda Schultz, their mother. "In 10 more seconds, his internal organs would have been severely damaged."
Their other brother, Michael, 10, had gone to get the boys for dinner and found them. He rushed back home, told his mother that Tyler was hurt and grabbed his mother's keys urging her to hurry.
"In my mind, I was thinking skinned knee or a skinned elbow," Schultz said.
She soon realized it was much more severe when she found the boys walking home. Tyler didn't have his pants on, and their mother asked Michael why. He told her that they were melting to him, so he removed them. At the time, Tyler was walking and talking and downplaying his injuries.
"Tyler was talking to me, he was acting like nothing was wrong," Schultz said. "We got into the house, and Tyler said, 'I just need a cold shower, jammies and some Tylenol.' In his mind, he was fine."
The family drove him to Sanford Hospital in Aberdeen, and from there he was flown to Sioux Falls and then Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Tyler stayed at the center for 60 days and was released on July 1. Doctors had said he would need to be in the hospital three or four months.
His doctor, Jon Gayken, told the family that, early on in the recovery, he didn't have the heart to tell them that he thought it would take closer to six months before Tyler could be released, Schultz said.
"Tyler didn't want to go to a rehab center, he wanted to go home. He pushed himself through physical therapy and went above and beyond their standards," Schultz said. "He is incredible. All the bad timelines he was given, he busted right through those."
Getting Tyler off all of the medication he'd been on was the most difficult part of recovery Schultz said.
"Weaning him off that much medication, they go through withdrawal. That was hard. He was frustrated," Schultz said.
Tyler has a few restrictions now, but they don't hold him back. He is not supposed to swim and must wear a protective suit 23 hours a day. He also has a tracheotomy that could stay in for two years. His mother has hopes that if his recovery continues on the same pace, he could have it out by the end of the year.
"We kind of let him set his own limitations. If he's not comfortable doing something, he won't do it," Schultz said.
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Information from: Aberdeen American News, http://www.aberdeennews.com
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