Eds: Will be led
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By JACK HAGEL
Associated Press Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – John Van Deusen III was wheeled out of Rhode Island Hospital on a stretcher Thursday with bandages about his body, a soda bottle on his lap and a smile.
The 39-year-old became the last survivor of The Station nightclub fire to be released from a Rhode Island hospital.
The Feb. 20 fire, caused by pyrotechnics at a Great White concert in West Warwick, killed 100 people and left about 200 injured.
Van Deusen, of Carver, Mass., said he remembers the night of the fire. The flashbacks haunted his dreams, but he declined to discuss the details of the fire.
“It was hell,” he said. “End of story.”
Van Deusen, propped up in a rolling stretcher pushed by hospital officials, stopped in a hospital hallway to talk with reporters. An ambulance was waiting to take him to New Bedford, Mass., where he will continue rehabilitation.
Van Deusen, a father of two, said he had received letters of support from as far as Japan. And that after being admitted to the hospital, he had been placed “on so many meds that I didn’t really know what was going on.”
Van Deusen sustained severe burns about his body. Most of the burns were on his right side, he said.
“My hands are to the point where I can’t be a mechanic,” he said, describing the fate of his job working on aircraft at an airport in Plymouth, Mass.
Christa N. Fadden, an occupational therapist at Rhode Island hospital, said she was impressed by his recovery and that it was nice to see the last fire patient move on.
“It’s good to see him heal and getting more mobile,” she said, adding that only weeks ago, he “couldn’t wiggle his fingers, but now he’s moving them a lot.”
Van Deusen said his first order of business when he gets home is to relax. Then, he said, he would consider starting an online business.
He said he still has a hard time walking on his own.
“I just hope to fight and get back on my feet again,” he said.
Each of the 43 fire victims admitted to Rhode Island Hospital survived.
Four survivors remain at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. One was in critical condition, one was in serious condition and two were in fair condition.
The fire claimed its 100th victim, Pamela Gruttadauria of Johnston, on Sunday at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“I can’t say anything bad about Great White,” he said, adding that he supported a national tour announced by the band last week.
“The band is my favorite,” he said. “It will not stop me from going to concerts.”
AP-ES-05-08-03 1446EDT
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