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After Grim Tragedy, Great Days for Grayson
posted (February 27, 2019)
On Monday, we showed you our interview with burn survivor Grayson Cadle. We went to the airport on Saturday to welcome him home. He had been at the Doctors Hospital in Augusta Georgia for about 7 months. Well, today Courtney Weatherburne met with Grayson to see how these couple days back home have been for him. It seems he couldn't be more content. Here is that story.

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
This morning Grayson Cadle was in his zone blasting his beats and hanging out with his mom at their Flamboyant Street apartment. This is pretty much how it has been since Grayson returned to Belize on Saturday.

Grayson Cadle, Burn Survivor
"I am glad I am home with my mom. I see a lot of my mom lately, but it is good to be with her and my little brother, oh gosh, he doesn't want to leave."

And the doctors and nurses at Doctors Hospital in Augusta Georgia didn't leave his side either. He felt just as loved and cared for there as he does now.

Grayson Cadle, Burn Survivor
"My surgeon Dr. Mullins, they call me a Mullins minion now because he did everything for me. Every 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, every day he would walk in the room, flick on the lights and wake me up and say let's see the wounds, let's see the toe, what's wrong with you this time. Another thing I would remember is Ms. Tessa Roof every time she passes my room she would say hey Grayson and she blows kisses until she gets out of sight."

Courtney Weatherburne:
"Your mom was there and of course everybody, the team at the hospital, they certainly helped you through this process."

Grayson Cadle
"Yes, definitely they are not just a team to me, they are family, I have a white mother, a southern mother Janet Shaw, a white sister Audrey Mullin, a whole host of them actually but those are the main two."

"Ms. Janet Shaw I mentioned her earlier, she got me speaking again because I had the trachea tube stuck, I could not speak for a whole while. She got a machine, hooked it up around the tonsil area and applied minor shocks until my vocal cords got active again."

"Logan, I could never forget Logan she …mom is laughing because I never call Logan in a regular voice, I always say "Logan" and she comes but she taught me how to walk again."

In total, Grayson had about 6 surgeries and completed a series of other treatment and therapy sessions.

Grayson Cadle, Burn Survivor
"I can say graphs were done on my face, a whole face is new skin and part of my scalp is new as well because that got burnt out, my arms from the chest going down and legs where third degree burns were from there down, an IVC filter for blood clots I had in my legs. To fix the internal bleeding I had in my stomach I had another surgery as well."

But for now, Grayson gets to take a break from all the intensive treatments and focus on re-adjusting to life in the city.

One step towards moving forward is coming to terms with what happened to him on the evening of July 9th 2018, but it seems he already has.

He was calm and relaxed when he re-visited his old home, the explosion site.

Grayson Cadle, Burn Survivor
"No kind of anger, no one can be blamed for it, it is a freak accident it could have happened to anyone."

"I remember everything about that day actually, when I run out I just pat out my hair. Like how the fire fighters normally say stop, drop roll you don't' even remember any of that, you just run out and do whatever you could."

Courtney Weatherburne:
"You could have died, like some people looking at this story would say how are you even here, how are you even alive after an explosion like that."

Grayson Cadle:
"To be real with you I would have been dead if the door didn't blow off, if the door didn't blow off I would have been a dead guy because my keys were somewhere around and I didn't even remember where my keys were if it wasn't blown off, it would have been locked and I would have been stuck in there being burnt to death but thanks to the explosion or divine intervention I am still here."

Courtney Weatherburne:
"How do you find it in yourself to be so calm and cool about this situation?"

Grayson Cadle:
"This is naturally my personality, I am always calm, cool, it is always me, I am always joking, mom laughs because she knows it is true, that is always me."

Grayson has to return to get laser treatment for the scars on his face. He says it will take 2 years for his skin to heal. His skin will not heal 100 percent, he will still have some scarring, but there will be a significant improvement after a couple years. For now, Grayson just has to take care of himself and protect his skin. Grayson and his family are extremely grateful for Yvette Burks from the Burn Victim Mercy Fund and to all the doctors and nurses at the Doctors Hospital.

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