The 5-year-old suffered burns over 40 percent of his body after his parents' house caught on fire. His brother, Alex, had burns over 20 percent of his body.
Tammy Baker, Donald's mother, says it is difficult to drive by the house, because it reminds her of the horror of that night. The burns on her sons will always serve as a reminder of the fire.
James January, a burn survivor who nearly lost his life in a car accident in 1991, spoke to Crenshaw's elementary school Wednesday to teach his classmates about fire safety and survival. He is proof that a bad burn does not have to extinguish a full life.
"People are going to do the second takes and want to know what happened to you," January says. "You are going to have to learn to deal with those aspects."
Donald just started kindergarten. He also toured a fire engine that may well have helped to extinguish the fire in his house. It is a simple but refreshing sight for his mother.
"You go through difficult times. You wait at the hospital and wait through surgeries and then it happens, that there are miracles," Baker says.
Crenshaw received treatment atUNC Hospitals' Jaycee Burn Center. They helped to organized the event at Crenshaw's school.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
