Teenage Burn Victim Taken Off Respirator

Michael Halsell, the Newbury Park teenager who was shocked and critically injured last week while rappelling from an electrical tower, was temporarily taken off a respirator Monday and was speaking with doctors and relatives.

Larry Weinberg, a spokesman for the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital, said that Halsell was talking and breathing without a respirator, but warned that the 17-year-old’s condition was still extremely critical.

“He is off the respirator, but it would be a mistake to interpret that as a significant change in his condition,” Weinberg said.

Halsell is scheduled to undergo a long and intricate surgery this morning to peel away the dead and damaged tissue that remains on his badly burned body.

Doctors performed a similar procedure on Halsell last week, but were not able to remove all the damaged flesh.

“Dead tissue decomposes, and as it decomposes, bacteria grows,” Weinberg said.

“That bacteria presents a huge risk to his health due to infection.”

The Newbury Park High School student suffered severe burns on 85% of his body when he was struck by a surge of electricity while climbing down a 175-foot electrical tower near the Conejo Grade.

Doctors plan to replace most of the burned tissue on Halsell’s body with cadaver flesh.

But they will graft artificial, laboratory-grown skin cells on his face and other, more delicate parts, Weinberg said.

Halsell was able to speak to family members and some medical staff on Monday, but doctors say that after today’s surgery, Halsell will probably have to be placed back on a respirator.