Excerpts from wgntv.com:
It’s been nearly three weeks since eight teens were burned at a weekend bonfire in Lombard. Four of them suffered severe burns and had to be hospitalized. Two remain at the hospital.
Alyssa Wolff, 15, is many things: A varsity cheerleader, a friend, a school leader and now, three weeks after the accident, she’s also a motivator, hero and fighter.
“It was just like a huge explosion and the first instinct was to help my friends,” she said.
One of the boys attending the gathering poured gasoline on the dwindling flames. All of a sudden, he was on fire. She said she remembered what she learned in kindergarten. She stopped, dropped and rolled. Then she realized her friends were injured more than she was.
She burned her wrist trying to help one, who was in shock.
Firefighters and paramedics arrived quickly and all four of the friends were taken to the hospital and eventually they were taken to Loyola Medical Center’s burn unit, where two are still going through painful procedures.
She is home now and her street lined with red ribbons. And her recovery is going well. Her swollen burned face is healing beautifully. She said she knows how lucky she is. She said the experience has been life changing and has charted the course for her future. She wants to be a nurse and work in the burn unit at Loyola.
