It is a matter of "wait and see" for the family of Kayne Singer, who was severely burned in a petrol fire last week, his uncle John Singer says.
Kayne had 80 per cent burns to his body, and had a long way to go towards recovery, Mr Singer said. Heis in a serious-but-stable condition in Middlemore Hospital.
The 20-year-old, who worked as a roofer, had been fixing a car with friends in Onekawa, Napier, when sparks flew and lit petrol from a container nearby. Kayne had tried to push the container away from the car, building and people but spilled petrol on himself.
"He was trying to do the right thing and get it away from cars and people," Mr Singer said. "It was instinctive."
Kayne's friends responded quickly, and people working in the area ran with tarpaulins and fire extinguishers. He was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital before being transferred to the National Burns Centre at Middlemore.
The hospital was running tests and waiting for swelling to go down so doctors could decide the next course of action.
"They're going through the process," Mr Singer said. "Stabilising him, assessing, monitoring pain and checking for infection."
Kayne's father, Clinton, is in Auckland supporting his son and his friends had gone up to visit him.
"He is sedated a lot of the time but when they bring him out a little he is aware people are there and people care," John said.
The family had received a lot of calls wishing them well and they were grateful to those who had reached out.
Kayne faces a number of operations and there was still an element of "wait and see".
