Katelyn Meyers, 8, and her 12-year-old brother, Tyler, are in pain now that they are no longer in medically induced comas, said their aunt Amber Allen.
Tyler is able to speak, and has said he and his sister were playing around and started a fire.
"Once they started a fire, they got scared they would get in trouble, and my niece grabbed a can and thought she was pouring water on it to put the fire out," Allen said. The 8-year-old didn't realize it was a can of gasoline.
"(Her brother) tried to stop her but it was too late," Allen said.
"She is awake and can move about," Allen said, "but still has the ventilator and feeding tube. She can open her eyes but she can't talk. She is agitated."
Both have second- and third-degree burns. They remain hospitalized at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center of Doctors Hospital in Augusta.
Katelyn, a student at Quarles Elementary, has burns on about 85 percent of her body. Tyler, a student at Long Beach Middle School, has burns on about half his body, including his face.
The children ran into a Gulfport emergency room Nov. 24 after their father drove them to the hospital, Allen said.
They were flown to the burn center.
A Boston laboratory is using some of Katelyn's DNA to create replacement skin for her, Allen said. The lab is able to grow skin fibroblasts, which will be grafted onto her body in a couple of weeks.
Their parents, Shannon and Elisha Meyers, are staying near their children, who will be in the hospital two to four more months.
The parents are grateful for the prayers and Coastians' efforts to raise money to help them while they are unable to work, Allen said.
Several fundraisers are set for this weekend. T-shirts and bracelets are being sold in conjunction with some events.
One will feature visits and pictures with Santa and craft tables from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the Re/Max real estate office on Pineville Road in Long Beach.
Another is a poker run that will start at Shaggy's restaurant in Pass Christian at noon Sunday and end with entertainment and fun at The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint on Mississippi 53 north of Gulfport.
Starting at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Long Beach police will sponsor a 16-mile Ruck March from the Bay St. Louis Bridge to Jones Park in Biloxi.
Contributions to the Benefit of Tyler & Katelyn Meyers can be made at any branch of Hancock Bank.
Read more here:
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/12/14/4359573/burned-south-mississippi-children.html#storylink=cpy
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