Doctors waking up Tega Cay burn victim from induced coma

A nod of the head. A roll of the eyes. The family of 13-year-old Connor McKemey has been regularly communicating with him in such forms for the first time since the December accident in which he was burned.

"It's unbelievable bliss," his mother, Karin McKemey, wrote in e-mail to The Herald, describing the family's recent interactions with Connor.

"... He does little Connor things. He will pat your hand so you will hold it, and he gives a thumbs-up -- even with all the bandages," she said.

Last week, doctors at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga., began weaning Connor from the medically induced coma that he has been kept in since he was burned in a Dec. 21 eruption in an outdoor fireplace at his parents' Tega Cay home.

Doctors are allowing Connor to wake up slowly as they prepare to remove a ventilator that is breathing for him, Karin said. It's a sign, she said, that he is improving.

"We are not out of the woods, but we can see a little bit of daylight," she said.

An attempt to remove Connor from the breathing machine Monday was not successful. But Karin was hopeful. "It's all within the realm of normal," she said. "He gets tired very easily and they decided to hold off and try again Thursday."

Karin said Connor -- who remained in critical condition Monday -- has developed a slight pneumonia, which his doctors are treating with antibiotics. She said they hope it will clear up by Thursday.

In the meantime, she said, doctors will continue to prepare Connor to come off the ventilator. Periodically, they turn the ventilator settings down, allowing him to breathe on his own for a couple of hours, followed by a rest period where the ventilator breathes for him, Karin said.

In the coming weeks, she said, Connor still faces another surgery to graft skin on his legs and feet, an area that was severely injured in the accident.

"Once his legs have been grafted and the skin has taken without infection, I think we can all breathe a little easier," she said.

Connor requires medication for pain and some sedation to tolerate the breathing machine, Karin said. But the levels of his medications have been decreased so he can move around somewhat and communicate by nodding.

The family is enjoying their long missed interactions with the teen, especially now that he can open his eyes. The medications he was previously on prevented his body from moving.

"He holds our hands, can respond to yes and no questions -- I even got an almost exasperated teen-aged eye roll when I couldn't understand something," Karin said.

Karin said that to communicate with Connor, she goes through the alphabet and he nods to stop her at a letter.

"I got 'skl' for school. He wanted to know what he was missing in school and was worried about homework. He has also spelled 'cold,' and our favorite, 'food,'" she said.

Connor also spelled that he wanted Karin to text one of his friends "Hi."

"I was very happy to do that," she said.

Because he is still on medications for sedation, which can cause forgetfulness, Karin said they often have to repeat things from day to day that they have told Connor.

"It's like 'Groundhog Day,'" Karin said, referring to the movie.

On Sunday, Connor's brothers Tripp and Quinn, had an opportunity to interact with him. "He did a motion of throwing the football to Tripp," Karin said.

This story was originally published February 10, 2009 at 12:38 AM with the headline "Doctors waking up Tega Cay burn victim from induced coma."