Burn survivor Amariah Raphael called ‘miracle patient’1 min read

Leilani VanArsdale visits her father, Raphael Elonas VanArsdale, aka Amariah Raphael, while be recovers from burns sustained Jan. 4 in Sedona.
Photos courtesy of Leilani VanArsdale

What started out as an enjoyable evening of barbecuing unknowingly became the moment Sedona resident Raphael Elonas VanArsdale, aka Amariah Raphael, would begin the fight for his life.

On Jan. 4, while lighting his propane barbecue, the tank exploded and caught him and the back of his house on fire.  Raphael’s fiancee was in the house at the time.

“It was horrible. He ran into the house with his skin dripping off of him and bleeding. He grabbed the hose and put the fire out by himself. He was still in shock,” Raphael’s fiancee Marji Gucci said. Raphael suffered severe burn injuries on 62 percent of his body. He was evacuated by air to the intensive care unit at the Arizona Burn Center of Maricopa Medical Center. He is still in recovery and has undergone more than 10 skin graph surgeries.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, March 13, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Larson Newspapers

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