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CNN LIVE TODAY
9/11 Burn Victim Goes Home Today
Aired January 29, 2002 - 12:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Elaine Duch is going home today from the hospital. She has an amazing story of survival. We saw her meet with reporters earlier today, here live on CNN. One of many victims of the terror attacks to strike this nation back on September 11th.
Duch was on the 88th floor of the World Trade Center when one of the airplanes crashed through the side there. She made it to the bottom with burns covering 77 percent of her body. She is alive, but obviously it has taken months for Elaine Duch to recover. Up until about 12 days ago, she was still on a ventilator.
Let's talk more about now with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We were watching it live, and we were quite taken aback by this woman's story, and amazing.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the story itself, though, just the story of how she actually got out of the building, had to walk down 44 floors, let's hear from her on exactly how she got out of there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELAINE DUCH, WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK SURVIVOR: After I got out of the Trade Center, and before anyone came over, Paul Adams had come over to help me, and then I was put on the stretcher, and then Paul came to the -- into the ambulance, and he came to the hospital with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: The beginning of the story for Ms. Duch, after she got -- first to St. Vincent's Hospital, and then to Weill Cornell Burn Center where the doctors took over, and we also heard from the doctors, Bill, just a little while ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PALMER BESSEY, ATTENDING SURGEON: She was critically ill, on the ventilator, and other many forms of life support. She had burns over 77 percent of her body, and she also had a severe injury of her lungs. She had her first operation on September 18th, and her seventh and last operation on December 11th. She was on the ventilator all of that time, many -- had bouts of pneumonia and bacteria in her bloodstream, but she weathered all that, and about 12 days ago finally came off the ventilator and was able to start to talk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: So really, really remarkable story. Four months on the ventilator, up until just 12 days ago. 77 percent of her body burned. In medical school, a while ago now, we used to learn that if you add the age of the person, plus the percentage of body burned, you find the likelihood of death, and in her case, you can tell it is well over a hundred. It's a real tribute, Bill, to the Weill Cornell Burn Center and to the burn therapies that exist today.
HEMMER: Absolutely devastating. She is alive, and we talked about this earlier, what kind of a life will this woman have?
GUPTA: You know, she has a long way to go. Certainly, she is getting out of the hospital, and that is certainly great for her and her family. She is going to have to have a lot of rehabilitation of her limbs. She is going to have to continue to fight infections. She had 77 percent of the largest organ of her body, her skin, burned. So, infection will continue to be a risk, the rehabilitation, she may develop scars, contractures (ph). So, she has got a long ways to go, but I guess a little more encouraging, Bill, is that you and I both heard her, she does sound pretty positive and, cognitively, her thinking seems very clear, which are good signs.
HEMMER: And this is living testament to the devastation that hit that city back on September 11th. There are so few survivors who are in her condition. We have made the comment many times you either got out and you lived, or you perished inside.
GUPTA: Right. There were 18 -- I visited the burn center back -- right after September 11th. 18 folks, only 18 folks, actually made it into the burn center there at Weill Cornell, and 12 will be released. She is the 11th. Six did not make it, but a real tribute to her.
HEMMER: Thanks, Doc. Appreciate it, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HEMMER: Okay.
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