CAPE MAN IN ST. LOUIS BURN UNIT AFTER HOME MISHAP

A Cape Girardeau man is in critical condition with burns over 40 percent of his body after he was injured in an accident at his home on Sunday.

Terry Long, 71, is hospitalized in the burn unit at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Couer. A friend of the family said Tuesday Long is responding to treatment and the prognosis for recovery is good.

Details of the accident are unclear at this time, since Long has been unable to speak to anyone because of his injuries. However, it's believed he may have been cleaning lawn mower parts in gasoline when he came too close to a smoldering brush fire that ignited the vapors.

The accident occurred shortly after 10 a.m., Sunday. Long was taken by Cape County Private Ambulance to Southeast Missouri Hospital, then transferred by LifeBeat air ambulance to St. John's Burn Center.

Long is an advertising account representative with KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau. He has been with the television station since October 1977. Prior to that, Long was advertising director for the Southeast Missourian from 1964 until 1977.

A spokesman for the television station, and close friend of the family, said Tuesday Long was being treated for burns over 40 percent of his body, including third degree burns on his hands, and second degree burns on his face and upper body.

"He's starting to respond. It's really good news," the spokesman said. "The swelling is starting to go down. They've started therapy on his hands. It's going to be a long process because it will take a lot of skin grafting."

The spokesman said Long's doctor credits his survival to his good physical condition prior to Sunday's accident.

Long can receive cards and mail, but no flowers are permitted because he's in a sterile area of the burn center. Only immediate members of the family are allowed to visit him once a day.