Stand With Ruth: Burn Recovery and Baby on the Way

Ruth (Bryan) Baus, 24 years old, has been cancer-free for 23 years. By the Grace of God, she became pregnant 17 weeks ago. She has been married to her amazing husband, Cale, for 4 years, and they recently bought their home in Lead, South Dakota. They both work for a wonderful couple that they consider family. Life really seemed to be falling into place until Friday, August 1, when tragedy hit.

Ruth went into a cabin to get it ready to rent. Everything seemed normal with no indication of a propane leak. However, when she opened the microwave, it created just enough of a spark to ignite the kitchen stove and cause a horrific explosion. The explosion was so large that the structure of the building was damaged, and all of the windows were blown out. Nearby campers heard the blast and ran to Ruth’s aid. Ruth was then taken by ambulance to Deadwood, where it was determined that 48%-50% of her body was burned. She was then sedated and intubated and taken by ambulance to Spearfish. From Spearfish, she was life-flighted to one of the best burn units in the country—Regions Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Ruth‘s first surgery was done Monday, August 4. They worked on her legs and were able to do a recell procedure. Once the damaged tissue was removed, they used a liquefied form of healthy tissue to spray over her wounds. If that surgery is successful, she will be able to regenerate her own skin. It is looking promising, but we will not know fully if it has taken for another two weeks.

Coming out of that surgery was the first time Ruth felt unbearable pain and anxiety. The next day was better, and she had her breathing tube removed and was able to communicate through talking instead of writing in the air. Just as she started to become comfortable, they had to start the next surgery.

Ruth’s second surgery was performed on Friday, August 8. This was a six-hour process of removing damaged tissue all the way to the muscle. Her arms and hands were then covered with cadaver skin. Coming out of this surgery is when the psychological damage was starting to become evident. Ruth, Cale, and I were looking through photos on her patient portal, and reality began to sink in. Ruth started to say things like “Wow, that looks painful” and “Oh my God, am I going to have scars?” She has started trauma counseling but continues to have nightmares.

Daily dressing changes are both mentally and physically agonizing. However, we are trying to keep her positive as much as we possibly can, and she seems to be in fairly good spirits.

Ruth’s third surgery was done Tuesday, August 12. This surgery was to remove the cadaver skin from her arms and hands and replace it with a skin substitute called Integra. This is just a building block to prepare her for her next surgery, where they will place permanent skin grafts.

The baby is doing well, but there is a long road ahead. The doctors are estimating about three months of Ruth being hospitalized. She was also burned on her face and stomach, but they are calling them superficial burns, meaning they do not require surgery and hopefully will have minimal scarring.

Please stand with Ruth as she fights for two. Together we can ease the financial burden and help Ruth focus on healing and welcoming her baby.