Story Archive

Grasping for the Word

Dr. Brett Lewellyn, a surgeon for Florida’s Orlando Health hospital system, says he’ll never forget working on Independence Day last year. “I started July 4 at 7:00 a.m. and operated straight through for 34 hours without a break,” he said, working on 15 patients. The cause of all the injuries? Fireworks. “Several lost multiple fingers, and out of the 15, three of them lost their entire hands,” he said. Many were children, typically 10-14 years old. And they’re not necessarily injured by explosive fireworks. “The vast majority of injuries are from sparklers,” he says. “People don’t realize the sparklers you give a young child can reach a temperature of 2,000 degrees.” And, he says, it’s getting worse, since people are increasingly trying to “show off” on social media. “People are getting bolder and doing, I’d say, courageous things,” he says, “but that’s not the word. Just things that shouldn’t be done.” (RC/WFTV Orlando) ...Go on, doc, you can say it: “obliviotic.”