Indomitable spirit, skilled care aids healing in Mississippi Burn Center patient

Published on Monday, August 12, 2024

By: Rachel Vanderford, rvanderford@umc.edu

Photos By: Melanie Thortis/ UMMC Communications

When 12-year-old Joseph “Josey” Osborne of Winona was severely injured in a campfire accident, his mother, Jennifer Harrell, was initially told he might be hospitalized for over a month.  

However, after just 12 days at the Mississippi Burn Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Osborne was on his way home. 

Harrell attributes her son’s swift recovery to his optimistic persistence, the care he received at the Medical Center and the technology of spray-on skin. 

Osborne incurred second and third degree burns on his arms, legs and torso while hanging out with friends during an end-of-the-year campout. After a long night of prank calls and wrestling matches, they noticed that their campfire had started to die down and began gathering more kindling.  

When a couple of the boys started playing around, using an aerosol bug repellent to stoke the flames, causing the fire to ignite in bursts, Osborne warned it might not be a good idea. Once the fire flamed larger than they were expecting, causing them to toss the can into the air and land in the campfire. The can exploded directly into Osborne, who was standing on the opposite side of the fire, the aluminum lacerating his thigh and flames suddenly engulfing him from the neck down.  

Osborne, knocked to the ground by the explosion, rolled in the dirt to put out the fire. Unable to extinguish the remaining flames on his legs, he ran a few feet away and splashed them with water from the nearby creek. The boys were in shock from everything they had just witnessed, but Osborne managed to remain level-headed.  

“He looks at one of them and tells them to go into the tent, get his phone and call me,” Harrell said. “At first, I didn’t believe him. I taught every one of those boys in school, so they had been prank calling me all night. He was speaking in an extremely calm voice saying that there was a terrible accident, and that Josey was bleeding and was on fire. I told them that wasn’t funny and not to joke like that. Then Josey spoke up from the background and told me it wasn’t a joke. He said, ‘Just get your keys and drive—but not too fast.’” 

Harrell took her son to Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital in Winona where he was treated until being airlifted to Children’s of Mississippi.  

“They immediately began hooking him up to IVs, assessing him, they cut his clothing off, they covered him, they tried to give him medicines. A lot was going on and it wasn’t very long before I was told that he would be airlifted. I am really thankful to our small-town hospital for how fast they reacted and how they got us to the best place that we could have possibly gone, which is to UMMC,” she said. 

Harrell said although time seemed to stand still, the UMMC AirCare helicopter was there before she knew it.  

“I knew I couldn’t, but I asked every first responder if I could get on that helicopter with him. There was one lady and I asked her if she had children. I asked her how many, and she told me three, just like me. I said ‘Wow, Josey. This is a miracle. She’s your helicopter mom.’ And she and I both kind of teared up,’” she said. 

When she arrived, Harrell said that Josey was in a room and had already made friends with the faculty and staff that were treating him.  

“I don’t think any stone was left unturned and I really mean that,” Harrell said. “I had asked for a notebook from the receptionist, and I was writing down doctors’ and nurses’ names as they walked in and everything they would do. I kept that notebook so that I could stay informed, and I could tell the next person in the room what the last person said. And what I can tell you is that every single person we encountered—I’m talking every person—was so professional and would already be knowledgeable about what the previous person had said and then would explain what the next steps were.” 

“I think what highlights the coordination between myself, the pediatricians, and PICU colleagues is that we work together very seamlessly,”saidDr. Juvonda Hodge, director of the Mississippi Burn Center. “When they go on the floor, they’re admitted to the pediatrician, so they help with that side of things. And I do the burn side of things. It works nicely.” 

Hodge added that all caregivers, from child life specialists and physicians to nurses, help the family. Each brings a different perspective, and they act in the best interests of the patient. 

Hodge cleaned Osborne’s wounds and repaired the laceration on his leg. She said she treats campfire burns at least once per month. 

“Dr. Hodge would come in every day and treat his burns and that was the most excruciating thing,” Harrell recalled. “We were given the option to leave or stay. And if I had the option to stay, there was no way I was leaving. I could only hold like one piece of his thumb and touch the top of his forehead and, he wouldn't complain, you know, he might have big tears streaming down that little raw face, but he wouldn't complain. He would apologize for hurting. He’s better than I will ever be. And I'm just so thankful for his strength.” 

A few days after hospital admission, he was treated with synthetic “Spray-On Skin” cells made from a sample of his own cells. With this technology, a thin layer of his skin was turned into an aerosolized spray, which was applied directly to his burns. This method ensures a broad, even distribution of live regenerative cells, promoting faster healing. 

“They would check in on it daily and after three days, there was just no comparison,” Harrell said. “He was like a different child. Before that, he had been on morphine, fentanyl, with shots of Dilaudid on top of that just to endure treatment for the burns. After this second procedure that she did, he was only on the morphine pump. And then he was taken off of that and put on tablets and Tylenol in between. It happened so fast. 

“When one of the therapists told him they would try walking tomorrow, he looked at her and said, “No ma’am, I can do it today.’ They walked to the nurses' station that day and two days later, he was leaving.”

Martha Mims Rodgers, a UMMC occupational therapist, remembers working with Osborne. “From the ICU to transitioning to the floor and going home, Josey was motivated and pushed through as he completed various interventions we provided for him to regain independence and strength. He along with his support system are the reason he has overcome so much,” she said.

Osborne’s infectious spirit has touched the lives of so many people. During his hospital stay, he had 68 visitors. When he arrived home, he was greeted with a parade in his honor. Friends, families and community members drove through his neighborhood, led by a firetruck and his uncle pulling a boatfull of his closest friends who were painted blue and gold—Winona Christian School colors.  

“The community organized a welcome home surprise party for Josey, and it was so special,” said Harrell. “Kids from his class, coaches, teachers, parents of the kids were there. There were vans from a couple different churches, his baseball team, community members like the fire department, police officers… there was a lot of support for Josey.” 

She said she was even contacted by Mossy Oak, who wanted to feature Osborne’s story of bravery and survival skills on their podcast. The Winona Fire Department also asked Osborne to join them when they travel to local schools to share his story as an anecdote about fire safety. Harrell said Osborne’s older brothers, Jase and Josh, joke about how “famous” their little brother has gotten. 

Osborne, who will start seventh grade this month, said he is most excited about playing football again and spending time with his friends.