Aberdeen Street fire victim Steven Boursiquot is recovering from severe burn wounds faster than doctors expected him to, after undergoing three surgeries, including one March 14 in which doctors removed his right little toe and some connected bone, according to some of Boursiquot’s recent visitors.
Doctors also removed a burnt portion of his right foot, the first part of a two-part surgery, said 2006 College of Communication graduate Emilee Pierce, Boursiquot’s friend. Boursiquot, a College of Arts and Sciences senior on the BU track team, sustained burns on 20 percent of his body in a 21 Aberdeen St. fire Feb. 24.
Last week’s surgery “went better than expected,” according to a Massachusetts General Hospital CarePage updated by Boursiquot’s sister, Christina Boursiquot.
Doctors will consult today to determine whether Boursiquot is ready for a full skin graft over his foot. If the surgery is approved, he will have the operation Friday, Pierce said.
“He’s talking, looks really good, already has a sense of humor,” said COM senior Ali Stielow, who visited Boursiquot yesterday. “[He] speaks softly but definitely [is] speaking . . . [and] a lot of his skin has cleared up.”
The fire killed School of Management senior Stephen Adelipour, 21, of Great Neck, N.Y. and CAS junior Rhiannon McCuish, 21, of Mashpee.
Stielow said although Boursiquot does not clearly remember the night of the fire, he was informed that Adelipour and McCuish died in the three-alarm fire started by a candle. Boursiquot shared the apartment with Adelipour and SMG senior Richard Park, who was not in the apartment during the fire.
“He’s doing great,” Pierce said. “They said he’s healing a lot faster than they expected him to, and his body is accepting the grafts.”
Boursiquot has regained some hand movements, Pierce said.
“Steven’s still doing very well, about the same as this weekend,” the latest CarePage post states. “He has been lifting his arms to grab his occupational therapy bars, but they’re still working on leg movement.”
Doctors completed grafts on all but his right foot in previous surgeries, Pierce said.
“[Boursiquot] can’t eat or drink at all yet,” she said. “They feed him ice chips every now and then, which he says is the highlight of his day.”
An apartment fire at 49 St. Mary’s St. killed Bloomsburg University sophomore Derek Crowl, 19, of Elysburg, Pa., Friday morning while he was visiting a BU student. It was the second off-campus fire that happened in three weeks of the Aberdeen Street fire.