Six–year–old burn victim thrives with local Shriners’ help

2004-10-08 / Front Page

For four years Darby Langley has gone to the Shriners Burn Hospital in Cincinnati for treatment
By Natasha Whitling


Darby and Tunie take flight out of Owens Field in the Flying Fez for Darby’s treatment at the Shriners Burns Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Darby and Tunie take flight out of Owens Field in the Flying Fez for Darby’s treatment at the Shriners Burns Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.

  • As her plane flew 10,000 feet above the Appalachian mountains, six–year–old Darby Langley curled up for a quick nap on her mother’s lap. Darby and her mother, Tunie, were on a mercy flight, soaring safely in the hands of the Flying Fezzes. Their flight was one of over 500 mercy flights out of Owens Field to Shriners’ hospitals across the US and Canada in the past 10 years.

    • Pilots Durham Harrison and Maynard Cusworth, both long time Shriners and members of the Jamil Temple, were taking Darby for a check–up at the Shriners Burns Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. The temple purchased the Piper Seneca 2 plane for $35,000, and they hold fundraisers and dinners to help cover the maintenance costs. “Insurance alone is $7,000 a year,” Ron Griffin, a Flying Fez in training, said. “But it’s worth it.”

    Pilot Maynard Cusworth, Ron Griffin, Tunie Langley, Darby Langley, and pilot Durham Harrison in front of the Flying Fezzes airplane Pilot Maynard Cusworth, Ron Griffin, Tunie Langley, Darby Langley, and pilot Durham Harrison in front of the Flying Fezzes airplane Darby was two years old when 39.5% of her body was covered in third degree burns as a result of a kitchen accident. At that time, Darby’s family was living in Gainesville FL. The burn hospital there told Tunie they were not equipped to handle a case like Darby’s, and they recommended the Shriners.

    “I said ‘whatever you have to do, as long as you save her,’” Tunie said. “They wouldn’t even show me a bill. A nurse told me they don’t have to be regulated by our insurance company. There are no restrictions. If Darby needs ten rolls of bandages, she’ll get it.”

    Darby spent two months at the Burns Hospital initially and has returned countless times for therapy and reconstructive procedures. This trip she was having one of her final consultations for a surgery that would allow her to have hair. Darby’s injury had left her without any hair on the left side of her head.

    With the aid of a saline balloon, Darby will be able to have a full head of hair. In May of this year, the doctors inserted a ballon underneath the portion of her scalp that had hair and have been slowly injecting saline into the balloon in order to stretch her scalp enough to allow them to pull the skin with the hair over the scars.

    “I’m so excited,” Tunie said. “She’s such a girlie girl. She likes me to curl her hair. Now she’ll have enough for me to do it.”

    Continued on page 2

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