Oshkosh Northwestern - Children in Ninth Avenue fire face a painful road to recovery
Dad attempted suicide by fire. He died. The children lived.
From the moment her mom walks in the room and begins taking the bloody bandages off, Ariel Stussy screams. She hits, kicks and flails her arms, trying to make her make her mom stop.
“Stop! You’re hurting me,” she screams.
While Tena Riste is inflicting pain on her 6-year-old daughter, it’s a necessary pain.
Ariel Stussy is undergoing burn care, a treatment aimed at helping heal the wounds she suffered last summer in a Ninth Avenue fire that badly burned the girl and her brothers, Zachary and Randy Jr.
Their father, Randy Stussy, died in the fire. His death was ruled a suicide. Authorities believe he intentionally started the blaze.
Three times a week, Riste administers burn care on her daughter. During the treatment, bandages are removed and Riste has to scrub the dead skin off her daughter’s legs before applying ointment and changing bandages.
It’s a painful process. And although Ariel has the option of taking pain medication before the treatment, Riste said it doesn’t help numb the pain her daughter feels.
“When I first had to do this, it was extremely hard, because I wasn’t the disciplinarian,” Riste said. “And at first there was a lot of crying, but I knew I had to stop and do it.”
The July 5 fire left the three Stussy children with burns covering their bodies. Zachary, 9, was the most badly injured, with burns covering 75 percent of his body. Burns covered 40 percent of Ariel’s body and Randy Jr., 11, had wounds covering 20 percent of his body.
