Mother and son recover from debilitating burn by giving back and practising 'superpower'
SOOKE, B.C. — Although he’s not faster than a locomotive yet, and despite effortless flips on his trampoline, still unable to leap tall buildings in a single bound, Levi Choo is developing superpowers of sorts.
“I got these when I was a baby,” Levi says.
The now six-year-old got the scars on his hands when he was eight months old — so the origin story goes — during a getaway with his parents.
“There was a fire at the hotel we were sleeping at,” Levi says.
Little Levi actually touched the glass cover on the fireplace in their room. Although it had been turned off, it was still hot, and badly burned his hand.
“As a mother, you don’t forget that kind of cry,” Breanna Choo says.
Breanna will also never forget racing to Emergency, with her baby’s hands wrapped in cold cloths.
“By the time we got to the hospital the cloths were very hot,” Breanna recalls. “Like they had steam coming off them.”
It was the beginning of a year-long journey that included visits to multiple hospitals, skin graft surgery and Levi learning to live with his little hands wrapped away or confined to cast.
Instead of crawling on his hands, he would army-crawl on his arms. Instead of picking up food with his fingers, he would place his forearms together to lift to his mouth.
“That was really amazing to watch, that he adapted,” Breanna says. “He was eight and a half months old and he’s taking this better than we are.”
But despite Levi’s remarkable resilience, Breanna and her husband remained racked with guilt.
“But then I tapped into this other part of me,” Breanna says. “I got to let other people know that this can just happen.”
So Breanna now volunteers to raise awareness about burn prevention, and helps support the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund, and their Hometown Heroes Lottery fundraiser.
“That’s my path now,” Breanna says. “I’m not going to sit here and feel bad for us that it happened. I want to help it not happen to other people.”
Which brings us back to Levi, who proudly shows off his scars.
“They sometimes hurt and feel itchy,” Levi says of the deep, dark scars on the palm of his hands. “[But] they’re cool!”
“He uses those hands really good,” Breanna smiles, watching how Levi can now build intricate heroes out of LEGO, just like his siblings.
And when I ask what his superpower would be, Levi fearlessly proclaims, “Fire!”
Levi says if there was a boy — separated from his family by a wall of ice — he would shoot fire from his hands and melt it so they could be reunited.
“If [people] are in danger you need to make sure they’re safe and not hurt,” Levi says. “You need to help them.”
Because after being supported by so many healthcare heroes, and after watching his mom give back, Levi has learned the greatest power is the one we can all learn to wield — helping others.
Ticket sales from the Hometown Heroes Lottery support VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, raising essential funds for specialized adult health services at VGH and UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehab Centre, and Vancouver Community Health Services. They also support Burn Fund programs, such as the Home Away program, which offers accommodations to burn and trauma survivors at the Burn Fund Centre in Vancouver, mental health support for burn survivors and fire fighters, as well as the annual Burn Camp for young burn survivors.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.