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| Young and lovely Cristina before the fire |
Friends of a Hong Kong-based Filipina law student and singer who got severely burned in a “flame jetting” accident in a United States university while she was attending a party hosted by her fraternity, are appealing for help with her medical bills.
Yvette Digan, 22, who is being treated at the Massachussets
General Hospital (MGH) for extensive burns to her body, limbs and part of her
face, is also calling for a ban on the highly flammable product, Everclear, that
caused the fiery accident at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where her fraternity,
Zeta Psi, is based.
"Flame jetting" is said to occur when flammable liquids are poured into or near an open flame or other ignition source, causing the vapor above the liquid to ignite and be propelled outwards in a high-speed jet of flame, which could result to serious burns, injuries or even death to people around.
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| PAANO SUMALI? BASAHIN DIT |
Yvette, a comely student taking up law at City University of Hong Kong, had just arrived in the United States for a prestigious exchange program at Boston University when the tragedy, which was caught on video, happened last May 21. Someone had poured Everclear at the gathering, and immediately, a massive fireball engulfed many students around, including Yvette.
The young Filipina was rushed to MGH with a number of second and third-degree burns to more than half of her body. And yet, after the excruciating pain and initial despair at being far from home when it happened, Yvette has chosen to take the path of positivity and gratitude.
A GoFund Me appeal set up by her family said, “Yvette’s
spirit is unbroken, but her road to recovery is long. She faces multiple
surgeries, skin grafts, physical therapy and counseling to cope with the emotional
toll. These treatments come with staggering medical bills, and her studies and music
career are on hold.”
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| Cristina shortly after the accident: It will take a long time for her to heal |
Yet, they said Yvette
is determined to rise from the tragedy, a statement the young woman herself affirms
in a post she made on LinkedIn.
“I’m writing to share
my story, express my gratitude, and raise awareness about the dangers of Everclear
and flame jetting. But more than that, I want to share a message of hope and healing,
because even in the darkest moments, I’ve seen the light,” she said.
She thanked the medical
staff at MGH, the Boston U community, her US lawyer, Adam Clermont, as well as
her family and friends, whose love and support, she said, “have been my anchor
through this ordeal.”
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
But she expressed
disappointment at the initial reaction of WPI to the tragedy, especially after
learning of another flame jetting incident involving Everclear in Massachussets
last year, which left another young student in hospital with severe burns.
If this was acted upon,
her own accident could have been prevented, she said.
She expressed hope that
WPI would join her quest to get Everclear removed from shelves not only in Massachussets
but across the United States.
Her US lawyer, Adam
Clermont, echoed this sentiment in a LinkedIn post. He described Everclear as “a
190-proof grain alcohol, 95% ethanol, 5% water, so potent that a single spark
can trigger an explosion.”
Yet, he said it is being marketed as safe for use around fire, with social media posts and its dedicated website (www.diywitheverclear.com) showing it being used for cooking near gas stoves, in fondue pots with open candles, and even as a candle fuel ignited by lighters.
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| Still shot from a promotional video for Everclear posted on a dedicated website |
These promotions “falsely suggested Everclear was safe for such high-risk applications, downplaying its volatility and leading to tragedies like Yvette’s,” said Clermont.
He also claimed Luxco, the company that manufactures Everclear, removed “critical, prominent warnings” from the labels of Everclear bottles in a rebranding campaign in 2018 to shed the product’s notoriety in favor of a shinier image.
These warning labels
reportedly read: “Caution: do not apply to open flame. Keep away from fire,
heat and open flame- contents may ignite or explode” and “Caution! Extremely
flammable. Handle with care.”
This choice, he said “scarred
lives forever,” like Yvette’s.
But as he and Yvette
await the outcome of their efforts to hold Everclear’s makers accountable, the
Digan family is beginning to feel the pinch from her medical treatments. A
close family friend said their hospital bill is now more than US$300,000 and is
still rising. It is money that the middle-class --- family living in Hong Kong
is hardly able to afford.
And while they despair
over the hospital bill, a bigger worry is the road ahead for Yvette. When will
she bounce back enough to continue her studies, and sing again? Luckily, Yvette
herself is upbeat.
“I’m still healing,
emotionally and physically, but I’m starting to believe in possibility again…”
she wrote in her LinkedIn post.
“With the support of MGH,
BU, Adam and so many others, I’m finding hope and strength. I hope my story can
inspire you to help make our communities safer, so no one else has to face what
I have. Together, we can turn pain into purpose and build a brighter, safer
future.”
(To help Yvette rise
again, please click on this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-yvette-rise-again-after-a-preventable-tragedy
)
