Friends uniting behind Brandon

SENECA – The night that made us a family, say Brandon Myers' friends of the evening the 17-year-old was severely burned in a bonfire explosion.

A junior at Seneca Township High School, Brandon received second- and third-degree burns on his face, arms, neck, hands and head when something blew up late Saturday in the blaze near his home.

His "family" of friends is raising funds to help cover the cost of reconstructive surgery Brandon is undergoing in the Burn Unit at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

Brandon's mom, Tammy Myers of rural Seneca, has a partial health insurance policy, covering the cost of his ambulance transportation and the helicopter airlift to Loyola.

But not enough for the medical procedures, such as the grafting surgery he underwent Tuesday, in which skin and nerves near the surface were grafted from his thigh onto his badly burned arms, said Brandon's girlfriend, Amanda Hufendick.

"The doctors say its remarkable how well he's progressing," she noted. "He's already starting to show signs of getting better."

Amanda recalls walking away from the bonfire to warm up in a car when the explosion happened.

"I thought, 'Oh God, Brandon caught himself on fire,'" she said.

A large group of his friends were standing around the bonfire when it exploded.

"I grabbed off my Carhart (jacket), ran over to Brandon and tried to get the flames out," Kyle Greaves of Morris said.

"The flames kept jumping back and forth on his body. You'd get one part out, and another part would break out in flames. A good 10 people were on top of Brandon, getting the flames out."

A certified lifeguard, Kyle immediately began first aid. Others covered Brandon with blankets. Then Brandon went into shock.

"He was completely conscious, cracking jokes with us," Kyle said. "Thirty second later, he started shaking and hyperventilating. The ambulance took him to Morris Hospital. They (sedated) him and he was airlifted to Loyola."

Jenny Diehl of Morris said the bonfire "suddenly erupted," and Brandon was covered with flames.

"Jake (Hoelscher of Seneca) tackled him to the ground, and rolled him around to put the flames out," Jenny said. "In about 20 seconds, he got him out. Jake got burned on the hand doing that."

Jake said it was just a spur-of-the-moment bonfire.

"Everybody said, 'Let's go out to Brandon's,'" Jake said. "There's always something to burn there. We had the fire going about an hour. Nobody threw anything in it. The next day, I found an aerosol can in a crater, all blown in half."

The bibbed Carhart overalls Brandon wore saved his chest and legs.

"He was still conscious and still talking. 'How's my face? How's my hair? Give me some blankets. I'm cold. Anybody got any Chapstick?'" Jake recalled.

"His mom was home. Someone had to go tell her – someone from our group. She saw him. She said, 'Brandon, are you OK?' We had him under like 20 blankets, and he was still cold."

Brandon Myre of Morris called 9-1-1. The two Brandons are close friends. Then Brandon Myre found he couldn't speak to the 9-1-1 operator, and he handed Jake the phone.

Brandon Myers would have had third-degree burns on his chest and body if not for the Carharts, noted Trevor Wagner, also a close friend.

"I was on the far side of the bonfire. Jake looked over and saw Brandon on fire. We all ran over and put it out with our coats," he said.

"I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see a picture of Brandon."

The family of friends plans to contact Carhart with the story on how the company's outerwear undoubtedly saved a life, Wagner said.

Kyle Greaves said only one tiny burn hole is on Brandon's chest.

The friends fanned out after school Tuesday to place fundraiser canisters and milk jugs in gas stations, fastfood restaurants, and other business establishments in Morris and Seneca.

"We'll put out canisters everywhere we possibly can," Jake said.

The friends are distributing fliers throughout the two communities, and will establish a bank account for donations in Brandon's name.

On a designated night, R-Place in Morris will give 15 percent of each food tab to the fund for each patron who presents a Brandon flier to the cashier with their guest check.

Wendy's in Morris is working on a similar arrangement.

Brandon attended Garfield Grade School in Morris up until the time he and his mom, a single mother, moved to rural Seneca. He has no siblings.

"He's a really funny kid, and he knows how to make people laugh," Kyle said. "You're never bored at his house. I've known him since I was 6 years old."

Jake says Brandon is "one funny, crazy kid."

"He doesn't fail to put a smile on my face, ever, no matter what. He's always upbeat. A great kid."

Brandon stays up with others on everything, says his girlfriend, Amanda.

"He opens his arms and heart to everybody who comes by," she noted. "He's a jokester and keeps everybody laughing."

Jenny is a pretty close friend to Brandon.

"He's really nice – never mean," she said. "He's a really down-to-earth person. I've known him since about eighth grade."