Injured firefighter keeps fighting months after wildfire accident
Oct 13, 2015, 5:12 PM | Updated: Oct 14, 2015, 7:02 am
Daniel and Barbara Lyon, father and mother of firefighter Daniel Lyon, chat with Dr. Samuel Mandell about the progress their son is making after being injured fighting wildfires this summer. (Sara Lerner, KIRO Radio)
(Sara Lerner, KIRO Radio)
Daniel Lyon came back from fighting the Twisp wildfire with burns covering more than 60 percent of his body.
The 25-year-old firefighter was in a vehicle when it crashed as it was overtaken by flames on Aug. 19. Three other firefighters inside the vehicle died in the crash.
Lyon has been at the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview ever since.
Tuesday, one of his doctors, Dr. Samuel Mandell, explained that after 10 surgeries, Lyon continues to improve.
“He’s really starting to focus more and more on rehabilitation and getting his strength back,” Mandell said.
“He does have one more, smaller surgery upcoming which is just some fine-tuning and he’s been up walking and going to the gym which is really great to see,” he said.
It’s too soon to say when he’ll leave the hospital and too soon for his doctor to say with certainty that Lyon will one day get back to his favorite sports, like skiing and hiking.
But his parents have no doubt.
“We know he will,” his mother Barbara Lyon said at Harborview Tuesday.
“He’s going to make a full recovery,” his father Daniel Lyon said.
“We’re not going to give him a choice,” he joked.
The Lyons have been at the hospital with him nearly every day.
“When he has a good day, we have a great day, and we’re having a lot more of those lately,” he said. “We’re doing…a lot better and a lot more secure just knowing he’s coming through this.”
They’re relieved they can finally talk with him, and even laugh, but it’s hard for him to smile.
“There’s been a couple times where we thought he was sobbing but he was actually laughing at a little thing,” his father said. “You go from utter terror, thinking there’s something wrong to finding out that he’s just trying to laugh and it just makes everything go away and you feel great.”
They say all three of them are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the public, in the form of letters, cards and flowers. They’ve asked first responders to send their patches. With the help of volunteers, they’ll work them into quilts honoring their son and the three firefighters who died that day.
People are also donating to help out, both to a fund for Daniel Lyon and another for the three firefighters who died.
