It’s the fire tragedy that caught the nation’s attention, the one on Aloe Vera Street  on Tuesday night: one child perished, while his cousins were severely burned to 90% of their bodies. While the family gets ready to bury 11 year old Aaron Gabourel next week, 4 year old Ian Sambula-Carr and 8 year old Empress Hamilton were flown out today.  7News was at the hospital to see them off, and Daniel Ortiz has the whole story:…

After spending 2 days at the KHMH, 4 year old Ian Sambula-Carr and his sister, 8 year old Empress Hamilton, were removed through the Emergency Section. They were heading to Shriner’s Hospital in Galveston via a private jet.

The KHMH has done all it can to save their life, and to ensure that they can have a fighting chance, they need more specialized care for those burn injuries which now covers most of their little bodies.

Their mom, Melissa Hamilton, is barely holding it together for them, the emotional burden is immense, and she is also recovering from her own burn injuries.

Melissa Hamilton - Mother of Burnt Children
"Every time I remember it and it flash back in my head it make I cry, it make I feel like to just run and scream but I know that I have to stay for my 2 baby because I know they di hear me and if I go on emotional and make they hear I the go on emotional ih will broke they down. So I have to try stay strong as they mother."

Right now, she’s not their only place of comfort. Yvette Burkes has working her hardest to make this life-saving opportunity a reality. She’s even spending money out of her pocket to handle the upfront costs to fly them out.

Yvette Burkes - Burn Victims Mercy Fund
"It's been very difficult because it's two of them because both of them is so critical so we need to have very advance care on the plane. Both of them are in intensive care and really it's been one of the worse most challenging cases that I have ever dealt with and I've been doing this for almost 20 years as you're aware."

Dr. Cecilio Eck - Paediatrician, KHMH
"Initially the first issue is to resuscitate when kids or adults get burnt. Remember your skin not only protects you from many germs that are trying to invade but it keeps moisture in; without that barrier you lose a lot of fluid. So the first 24 hours we were playing catch up with putting in fluids, they were taken to theatre by the paediatric surgeon and she actually clean the wounds, dressed them and then gave us some lines for us to resuscitate the babies with. We admitted to ICU and they risk now is that with swelling, with inflammation there could be compression of each of the compartments in your limbs and in your thorax and it would decrease blood flow to the organs. So the management then would be put in the ward, we give out IV fluids, we give our antibiotics to prevent infection and we monitor very closely. Belize isn't equipped for this severity of burn injury. The best burn centres in the world with a 90-95% body burn injury the recovery rate is maybe 10%. So the chances are very slim."

Yvette Burkes - Burn Victims Mercy Fund
"The children are the worst cases I have personally ever tried to assist in terms of the level on injuries and we know it is a long shot. When we made the application to Shriner’s we knew it was a long shot but Shriner’s insist that it's worth a try, they insist that they have been able to help children of this level of injury and with that being said it's worth trying. Where is there is life there is hope."

Melissa Hamilton - Mother of Burnt Children
"I know there is hope from the night god show me he make he get they out of that house and from when they come ya they help they di night and god send Ms. Burkes as an angel and I want Ms. Burkes know I thank ah, I no know how much fi thank ah because da no anybody wa do that and I thank ah so much. And I know they wa make it, god noh wah tek deh weh."

Yvette Burkes - Burn Victims Mercy Fund
"Frankly, the cost was prohibited with at first the air ambulances were insisting that they need 2 planes and I can't even hardly afford the first one much less 2 and so when I say afford it of course I am fronting for the airplane but it's all in the form of a loan and I need to repay it the same way I've always done it throughout the years and so we're dependent on donations to help with that so that we can continue to help children in the future. But we manage to get a bigger jet which would be landing at about 12:30 so in less than an hour from now to come at a much cheaper cost. At first I got quotes of over 100,000 dollars, thankfully the one that's coming now is almost 65,000 dollars is the cost for the one that is about to land and both children will go on one plane and that saves me 10 of thousands of dollars. So hopefully they'll have an opportunity to live."

Shriners Hospital is also reaching out to with a very generous helping hand. These liife saving medical procedures, which would have costed hundreds of thousands of dollars, are being gifted to these children for absolutely free.

Yvette Burkes - Burn Victims Mercy Fund
"You might be aware that Shriner's is so involved and so committed to this case that they have send one of the their own physicians here and he's already here, I picked him up earlier at the airport and he is working with the children now trying to prepare them in such a manner that they will be able to survive the flight and get to their facility."

Dr. Cecilio Eck - Paediatrician, KHMH
"Not only have they accepted the kids, not only has Ms. Burke gone out of her; she usually does go above and beyond the call of duty but she has gotten payment to get the private ambulance here to transport them. But remember it's not only to have them survive but their type of living after this and we know that takes many many months of intense therapy. Again Belize we're not equipped for it and so we're very very thankful for Shriner's."

And should these children survive the medical treatment for which they flew out of the country today, it is expected to be a long road to recovery, and a perpetual need for medical care, since these burn injuries have altered the quality of their lives.

Yvette Burkes - Burn Victims Mercy Fund
"I had a very long discussion with mom about this and as well with mom and dad when dad came in and in fact we did it with the doctors the first morning I came over here. And I did counsel them about this, I have had lots of challenges along the way because some of the parents unfortunately even though I tried to counsel them at the early stages that it doesn't stop here they didn't quite understand it, it goes on for years. When Shriner's said yes they're committed throughout until 21 years and in some extreme cases such as these and such as Danay Chavarria for instance they will continue after the age of 21, they will continue to give these children surgeries, they will give them their wheelchair, their prosthetic limbs, whatever it is that they need to have the best quality of life possible."