A rural North Texas teen has been put in a medically induced coma following a bonfire accident at his relatives' home, a family spokeswoman said.
Garrison Rayne Newby suffered burns over 90 percent of his body the day before Thanksgiving, said family spokeswoman Suzy Cooper of Weatherford.
The Millsap Middle School eighth-grader was trying to re-ignite the bonfire near Pottsboro when a container of diesel fuel ignited, engulfing the boy in flames, she told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Newby was conscious when he was taken to the burn unit at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas but has been placed in a medically induced coma, Cooper said. Newby received his first skin graft Monday, according to friends and a "Praying for Rayne Newby" Facebook page tracking his recovery. Doctors have given the boy a 50 percent chance of recovery, she said.
"Doctors are going to keep it at that because of the chances for infection," she told the newspaper.
Even if all goes well, Newby faces six months to a year of recovery in the hospital and another two months of intensive rehabilitation, Cooper said.
Meanwhile, Millsap residents have been scheduling fundraisers for Newby's family and blood drives for Newby.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Millsap is a town of less than 500 residents about 40 miles west of Fort Worth. Pottsboro is a Red River town of around 2,200 residents about 65 miles north of Dallas.
