Florida teen has 3 fingers amputated in firework explosion

A Florida teenager is recovering after having three of his fingers amputated after a fireworks accident during a New Year’s Eve celebration.

Zackary Ghowiba, from Seminole County, told ClickOrlando that he was spending the holiday in Lake Mary with a group of friends, one of whom brought along fireworks to light at midnight.

The teen said he lit a firework and placed it on the ground, but it did not go off. Ghowiba picked up the firework to relight it, and it exploded in his hand.

At first, the high school senior said he only felt a burning sensation, but when he looked down at his right hand, he immediately realized that it was not just a burn.

“My thumb was hanging by the tendon,” Ghowiba said. “I almost passed out. There was a lot of blood loss.”

As he ran to grab paper towels to stanch the bleeding, one of his friends called 911.

On the ambulance ride to Orlando Regional Medical Center, Ghowiba thought his right thumb was the only digit that had been impacted by the blast.

But medics who examined him at the hospital determined that his index and middle fingers would have to be amputated as well.

More than two weeks after the freak accident, Ghowiba still has heavy bandages on his dominant right hand and is learning how to perform everyday tasks with his left — including playing basketball.

“I (need to) learn how to write again in my left hand,” Ghowiba said. “I (need to) learn how to do basic things that most people are able to do.”

The teen’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay his hospital bills because he does not have medical insurance.

Ghowiba said that surgery to reconstruct his blown-off fingers would cost about $160,000. So far, he has collected just over $8,000 in donations.

According to the fundraiser’s description, Ghowiba is set to graduate from Travers High School this year and plans to go to college.