Family of injured Wainwright soldier holds bedside vigil in burn unit
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Family → injure → unit
‘He was not recognizable — we identified him by his toes,’ mother says
The mother of a soldier fighting to recover from severe burns he sustained in last month's CFB Wainwright fire says she worries not only about his physical injuries, but also his mental health.
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she → identify → injuries
Pte. Liam Ramage, 27, of Red Deer, Alta., was one of dozens of service members hurt in an out-of-control grass fire on the central Alberta military base on Oct. 17.
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Ramage → hurt → Oct.
Four died.
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Four → die → ?
Roughly 40 per cent of Liam’s body was affected, mostly third- and fourth-degree burns, mainly to his face, neck and throat, according to his mother Cheryl Ramage.
uncertain
cent → affect → mother
“Some to his arms, really bad to his hands, the upper and the palms," she told CBC News in an interview this week.
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she → tell → interview
"They’re doing skin grafts to the majority.
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They → do → majority
His eyelids even have skin grafts on them, so he can’t open his eyes.”
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he → have → eyes
Cheryl Ramage, a nurse, said Liam's family is taking it day by day, knowing his recovery could take years.
uncertain
recovery → say → years
Cheryl and Liam’s wife Marisa have been constants at his bedside at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.
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Cheryl → constant → Edmonton
He can barely move, speak or see.
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He → move → ?
“Being locked in your own mind is a form of torture right?” said Cheryl, who’s a nurse.
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who → lock → torture
“His mental health is going to have to be addressed right away.”
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health → go → ?
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She describes the days since the fire as devastating.
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She → host → fire
Being a nurse can sometimes help her compartmentalize her feelings, but it doesn’t shield her from them, Cheryl said.
“
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Cheryl → help → them
I can kind of turn clinical.
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I → turn → ?
When I go into his room, especially if I’m with somebody else, I can be like, ‘This is what this line’s doing and that’s what this dressing is for.’
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dressing → go → what
I can kind of remove myself from it, if that makes sense — I can just talk about the injuries, not looking at it like it’s my son.
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it → remove → it
But if I’m there by myself or go home by myself, I’m a disaster."
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I → ’m → myself
‘Identified him by his toes’
Marisa said she first learned something might be wrong in a text from her father alerting her to the situation in Wainwright on the day of the fire.
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something → identify → fire
The last time she had heard from Liam was a text earlier in the day.
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she → hear → day
Cheryl’s other son Rowan, who was also training at CFB Wainwright, texted his mother to let her know he was OK.
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he → train → mother
But she did not hear back from Liam.
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she → hear → Liam
She went to Liam and Marisa’s house in Edmonton to wait for word.
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She → go → word
Hours later, at around 3 a.m. local time the next day, warrant officers knocked on the door and gave them the terrible news — “a mother’s worst nightmare,” Cheryl said.
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Cheryl → knock → news
Liam joined the military in March 2024 and went to basic training the following month.
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Liam → join → training
“I don’t think I stopped shaking for the entire amount of time that they were there,” Marisa said.
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Marisa → think → time
The pair rushed to the hospital.
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pair → rush → hospital
“We couldn’t recognize his face,” Cheryl said.
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Cheryl → recognize → face
“He was completely covered in dressings and so swollen.
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He → cover → dressings
We identified him by his toes.”
‘It’s so unpredictable’
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It → identify → toes
Liam is fighting pneumonia.
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Liam → fight → pneumonia
He has had three surgeries and three strokes, which paralyzed the left side of his body, though he’s showing some toe, hip and leg movement.
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he → have → movement
He has necrosis — the death of body tissue — on several fingers, his ears and nose.
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He → have → fingers
He can now breathe on his own, though he is placed on a ventilator at night to give his lungs a break.
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he → breathe → break
Thanks to a special device, he has been able to speak a few words in recent days.
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he → speak → days
“He mouthed my name when I was in there with my dad and that was shocking for me,” Marisa said.
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Marisa → mouth → me
“I did have a really good cry after.”
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I → have → cry
Marisa and Liam started dating in 2020 and married in 2023.
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Marisa → start → 2023
Both women say it’s hard to imagine what life will look like for Liam, an outgoing, active man who loves music, cooking and playing hockey.
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who → say → hockey
…and 37 more, not listed.
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