Brad Lewallen, the firefighter who suffered severe burns in the July 2 fireworks explosion and fire July 2 at the Choctaw Nation capital grounds in Tuskahoma, was expected to return home to Cherokee County on Friday after more than two months in an Oklahoma City hospital.
“Our doctor and burn care staff have been phenomenal, but they want him to get home and heal,” his wife Talisha told KFSM Channel 5 this week. “He had so many surgeries that they’re like, ‘You just need to go home and rest and then decide what do you want us to work on next’.”
In addition to Lewallen, the explosion and fire injured four other men, including Ely Smith, 22, Cash Collins, 18, and Harley Casey, 19, all Vian graduates. Casey and a fifth victim who has not been identified, were treated at a local hospital and released.
Collins was airlifted to a Tulsa hospital, and Smith was airlifted to Oklahoma City, where he died from his burns and injuries on July 9. Collins remains hospitalized, but is making progress.
For Lewallen, a volunteer firefighter for Camp Gruber and Keys volunteer fire departments, his wife says Camp Gruber fire officials have told her “the sky’s the limit” for her husband to return to work.
“We talked to Camp Gruber Fire Department. His injuries do not immediately cast him out of being a fireman, as long as he could get the hand strength back, as long as he can pass the test to be able to get in. They think he still will get to be back, if that’s a choice that he makes,” Talisha said.
“Right now, he’s able to get up and move on his own, like he’s walking without a walker.
He’s getting a lot more dexterity back in his hands.
“Brad, the whole time, was a fighter. His nursing staff said he is well beyond most other patients that have been through his condition because he would just lay in the ICU room throughout the whole night if he was awake, just doing the exercises and trying to get that skin moving,” Talisha said. Lewallen sustained burns on more than 70% of his body. Numerous surgeries and medical procedures were performed during the past two months, including skin grafts and partial amputations of some of his fingers.
“Hearing his recollection amazes me even more that he is alive,” Talisha said. “The nursing and doctors here, again, said the only reason he survived at somebody that’s 39 is because of the shape that he kept his body in. You know, he was very fit, very active, he ate healthy, and that alone is pretty much what’s attested to him being able to survive this just absolutely horrific event.”
The four who were injured were helping make a delivery of fireworks for the Choctaw Nation’s annual “Boom in the Valley” event when the incident occurred.
In the wake of the accident, messages were posted on social media on almost a daily basis, and there has been an outpouring of community support, which has helped sustain the men and their families.
“I don’t think the words ‘thank you’ are ever enough,” Talisha said. “Words cannot express how humble both Brad and I are. I’ve never felt alone in this whole journey.”
