Set afire teen Michael Brewer fights for his life

[Toler]

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- He lies in a bed on a balloon-type mattress, to reduce pressure on his burned body. He is covered with bandages; a ventilator breathes for Michael Brewer because he can't do it for himself.

He's hooked up to the marvels of modern medicine that are trying to give the 15-year-old burn victim a chance to be a kid once again.

Sixty-five percent of his body is covered with second- and third-degree burns.

"People are writing horror stories ... but people just can't imagine the kind of sickness we're talking about," said Dr. Nicholas Namias, medical director of the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Miami.

"I've been to movies like everyone else, and Hollywood hasn't even thought of something like this," Namias said.

Brewer is heavily sedated, and the ventilator does not allow him to speak. His open wounds are covered by bandages, which are changed daily. It's a four-hour process.

He has not been able to speak with police since his desperate fight for life began October 12, when police say five teenage friends, including a 13-year-old, doused Brewer with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire.

The attack occurred after Brewer reported to police that one of the youths had stolen his father's bicycle. Police say the bicycle was stolen because Brewer did not pay one of the boys $40 for a video game.

According to police, witnesses said the teens called Brewer "a snitch" as they used a lighter to set him ablaze.

Namias explained how Brewer's organs are not functioning the way they should be, but that is expected at this early stage of recovery.

"He's still on the ventilator and advanced modes of mechanical ventilation. We are breathing for him. His contribution to the breathing is trivial," Namias said.

Namias also explained that in burn cases, words must be chosen carefully when talking about patients and their condition because so much is at risk and so much can change quickly.

"When you say he's doing OK, in this situation it means he's alive and responding to treatments," Namias said. "We're still dealing with the respiratory failure. We're dealing with infection now and the need to supply the massive amount of nutrition that this person needs to survive."

On Monday, the five teens who are accused of taking part in the attack appeared separately before judges in Broward County, Florida.

State prosecutors were granted additional time to build their case. Formal charges are expected later this month. For now, all five teens are being held in custody.

Four of the boys, all 15 years old, could be charged as adults. The 13-year-old also could be charged as an adult but under Florida law only if Brewer dies.

Michael Brewer's parents, Valerie and Michael Brewer Sr., issued a written statement through the hospital last week. They are not granting interviews.

"The recovery process will be baby steps, but eventually he will be whole again," they wrote.

But their son's injuries enter the realm of medicine and science that has no guarantee.

"There's no evolutionary mechanism to survive a 65 percent burn," Namias said.

"Surviving is a miracle of modern medicine and about the technology and the things we do. This is not like a gunshot and you come out of the [operating room], and say everything's going to be OK," he added.

"We never give up, and we never predict it. ... Our expectation is survival."

Across the hospital floor in the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, six other people's lives also are at stake: all victims of various accidents, all with burns similar to Michael Brewer's. They, too, are trying to regain at least a part of what they used to have.

"It's understandable that people can be burned in accidents," Namias said.

"But this was no accident. This didn't have to happen at all."

      
 http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/02/teen.burned.recovery/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

[size6pt] Edit to add name to subject line.  MB[/size]

[MuffyBee]

    Prayers for this young man and his family 

[Toler]

November 11, 2009 5:37 p.m. EST

Paramedic Bobby Goss said the case of a teen set on fire was the worst called he's had.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Firefighter-paramedic Bobby Goss says burned boy jumped in pool, screaming
Michael Brewer, 15, taken off ventilator, recovering from "horrific" burns
Burns cover 65 percent of Brewer's body
Dispute over bicycle, video game, $40 allegedly led teens to set Brewer on fire


For firefighter-paramedic Bobby Goss, it was the worst call of his four-year career. And when you hear the screams of 15-year-old Michael Brewer on the 911 calls, you know why this was such a horrific call for help. Michael Brewer had been set on fire.

"We saw the bushes on fire ... and we could hear the patient screaming at the pool," Goss said Tuesday.

Goss and five other firefighters with Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue were the first on the scene October 12 after Brewer was allegedly attacked by five of his friends, who poured alcohol over him and set him ablaze.

Brewer jumped into a pool to put out the flames. He remains in critical condition with burns over 65 percent of his body at Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Miami, Florida.

Tuesday, doctors removed the ventilator that kept Brewer alive for almost a month. He's now breathing on his own.

"He was sitting next to the pool, on a pool chair, with nothing but basketball shorts on. He was wet head to toe, and you could tell he was burnt," Goss recalled.

He immediately knew this was a bad call.

"We knew right away the helicopter had to be here," he said.

Fire Rescue workers were with Brewer for only a short time. They administered burn gels and pain medicine. Air Rescue landed in a parking lot down the street, and Michael Brewer was airborne in 13 minutes after rescuers arrived.

"He was very awake. Very coherent," Goss said.

"He was definitely in a lot of pain. He knew what was going on. Anytime we needed to ask him questions, he could calm himself down enough to answer questions. He gave us his address, his phone number, his mom's name. That kind of stuff," he said.

Sheriff's detectives say the attack on Brewer started over a video game and a bicycle. They say Brewer owed one of the boys $40 for a video game, and when Brewer didn't pay, one of the teens -- 15-year-old Matthew Bent -- stole Brewer's father's bicycle.

Brewer blamed Bent to police, who arrested the teen. The next day, Bent and four other teens found Brewer, authorities say, and surrounded him. Police say witnesses have told them that they called him a snitch before pouring alcohol on him and using a lighter to set him on fire.

Three of the five teens -- Denver Jarvis and Bent, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16 -- have been charged as adults with attempted second-degree murder and are being held without bail until they enter their pleas at their arraignment next week.

Running to the pool, it probably kept the flames away from his airway and face, and it put the fire out very quickly.

 Two other teens, including a 13-year-old, have only been charged as juveniles with aggravated battery. However, they too, may still be charged as adults by prosecutors who are still investigating the case.

Investigators were unable to interview Brewer while he was on a ventilator. Detectives are hoping that the teenager can soon help piece together what happened to him and the level of involvement of all five of the suspects. This help determine whether any other charges will be filed.

Authorities say Mendez confessed to Broward County sheriff's detectives that he used the lighter to ignite Brewer, who ran about 100 yards to an apartment complex pool to save himself.

"I think the pool helped a lot," Goss said.

"Running to the pool, it probably kept the flames away from his airway and face, and it put the fire out very quickly."

As the Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue team worked to stabilize Brewer for transport, Goss had to make two phone calls. The first was to the hospital, to relay Brewer's vital signs and to make sure hospital staff understood the extent of his injuries. The second phone call was to Michael Brewer's mother.

"She was very upset, but I explained to her that 'he's awake and talking to us now,' but she'll never make it to the scene on time. He's going to be in the air before she ever gets a chance to get here," he said.

Thirteen minutes after firefighters arrived, Brewer was put on a gurney and rushed down the street to meet the Air Rescue helicopter.

Although Goss did manage to serve out the rest of his shift that day, he said, he was marked by what he saw.

"It was horrific and terrible, but that doesn't kick in until afterwards, until after [Brewer] was in the air. Then we could actually think about it for a second and realize how tough it was. ... He was a very tough kid."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/11/florida.burned.boy/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

[Sister]

Burn Victim Michael Brewer Speaks Out Against Bullying
 ::snipping2::
His is a remarkable story of survival and courage. One that he and his family only now can recount in detail.

"I had holes in my arms," Michael recalled. But he can't even remember what happened those first weeks as he lay in a coma for three weeks medically induced, in part, to keep him from feeling the unspeakable pain.

"We almost lost him several times, his kidneys started to fail, he had a problem with his heart," said Brewer. "We were very lucky and I know that it was his sheer will and determination to get better.

At first, Michael's family held vigils day and night. Valerie Brewer refused to leave his bedside.

Michael spent weeks in intensive care in an induced coma.

"The pain was just incredible, they had him on so many different medications and nothing can completely get rid of the pain," she said. "They had him on propofol ... the same medication that Michael Jackson was on."

For weeks, with Michael's life hanging in the balance, spontaneous acts of kindness started pouring in: car washes, bake sales, celebrity events totalling more than $300,000.

Michael became a national symbol of the evils of bullying and the gruesome results of teen violence.

 ::snipping2::
http://abcnews.go.com/US/michael-brewer-recovers-burns-speaks-bullying/story?id=11457757

This is from August of 2010

[KittyMom]

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-11-10/news/fl-michael-brewer-delays-20111110_1_deerfield-beach-parking-lot-denver-jarvis-matthew-bent

Brewer family losing patience with delays in burning trial

Broward Circuit Judge Michael Robinson ordered lawyers to file any remaining motions in the case by Jan. 10.

Attorney Gordon Weekes, who represents accused ringleader Matthew Bent, wants his client tried separately from the two others, an acknowledgment that the defendants will not present a united front to fight the charges.

Playing the blame game.   

[KittyMom]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/former-suspect-14-in-deerfield-boys-burning-pleads-977607.html
Former suspect, 14, in Deerfield boy's burning pleads no contest in burglary case

Jeremy Jarvis, the youngest suspect arrested — but never charged — in the Michael Brewer burning case, was in court Monday morning to change his plea on a burglary charge.

In a brief hearing, Jarvis entered a plea of no contest in the burglary case.

How long before this kid is in trouble again? 

[Sister]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/former-suspect-14-in-deerfield-boys-burning-pleads-977607.html
Former suspect, 14, in Deerfield boy's burning pleads no contest in burglary case

Jeremy Jarvis, the youngest suspect arrested — but never charged — in the Michael Brewer burning case, was in court Monday morning to change his plea on a burglary charge.

In a brief hearing, Jarvis entered a plea of no contest in the burglary case.

How long before this kid is in trouble again? 

What time is it?

[KittyMom]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-brewer-mendez-guilty-plea-20120215,0,5690232.story

Two teens sentenced to prison in the burning of Michael Brewer

The sentences handed down by Robinson were not as harsh as the prosecution wanted and not as lenient as the defense had hoped.

Outside the courtroom afterward, the victim said he was not convinced there was anything accidental or unintentional about the incident.

"They knew exactly what they were doing," he said of his former friends.

I am seriously concerned over the justice system in Florida.  This gang called him a snitch as they did this and then stood back and laughed as he burned.  There is no way this was 'accidental'.   

[Sister]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-brewer-mendez-guilty-plea-20120215,0,5690232.story

Two teens sentenced to prison in the burning of Michael Brewer

The sentences handed down by Robinson were not as harsh as the prosecution wanted and not as lenient as the defense had hoped.

Outside the courtroom afterward, the victim said he was not convinced there was anything accidental or unintentional about the incident.

"They knew exactly what they were doing," he said of his former friends.

I am seriously concerned over the justice system in Florida.  This gang called him a snitch as they did this and then stood back and laughed as he burned.  There is no way this was 'accidental'.   

KittyMom, you're so right . . . this was no an accident.

[KittyMom]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/fl-michael-brewer-verdict-watch-20120619,0,6896307.story
Matthew Bent cleared of attempted murder charge in Michael Brewer burning case

Matthew Bent, 17, avoided the more serious attempted murder charge brought by prosecutors who wanted him held fully accountable for the Oct. 12, 2009, attack that nearly killed Brewer. The verdict acknowledged that Bent played an active role in the crime, ordering or offering to pay Denver Jarvis to pour a jug of rubbing alcohol on Brewer in the moments leading up to the burning.

But the jury did not hold Bent responsible for the action of Jesus Mendez, who admitted he acted on his own when he pulled out a lighter and flicked it, igniting the liquid and setting Brewer ablaze.

How much did the racial climate of Florida play into this?  He laughed while Michael burned.  He knew exactly what the alcohol was being used for.