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Man injured from fireworks: 'Lesson learned'

"One of the things I remember is, 'What am I going to do after this?'" Maurice Fuller said.
Credit: Clancy, Samuel

JENNINGS, Mo. — It was a last-minute Fourth of July celebration. Maurice Fuller was playing with his kids when family members brought over fireworks.

Maurice was lighting bottle rockets.

“I'm not supposed to do, but I light them and let them fly out of my hand,” he said.

It was something Maurice had done dozens of other times, but this particular bottle rocket exploded in his hand.

He remembers everything that happened next: the sound of the explosion, the trail of blood he left in front of his home. When he woke up after surgery, he also remembers his first thought.

“One of the things I remember is, 'What am I going to do after this?'” Maurice said.

Maurice lost three of his fingers — his ring, middle and index fingers — on his left hand. It is his dominant hand and the one he uses to work. Maurice is a mechanic and the sole provider for his family.

“I was pretty much making my own money working on cars, but now that's changed forever,” he said. “It's been difficult, doing my everyday things, the things we take for granted.”

Maurice’s wife Jemyla said, despite the trauma and injury, she is grateful.

“He lost three fingers, but he still has his life,” she said.

Maurice said once he fully heals and rehabilitates, he will find work. For now, he wants people to realize how dangerous fireworks can be.

“I want people to know, just be safe, especially around the holidays,” Maurice said. “It's a lesson learned.”

The Fullers have a GoFundMe account to help with medical bills.

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