Troy Piroch

I am sorry it has been a while since I have posted. A lot has happened in a very short amount of time. Though a lot of it has been positive, last week a tragedy struck that rocked me to the core. I lost my cousin, Troy Piroch.

Troy, 20, was a sweet kid with a kind disposition. He had just graduated high school with honors and was getting ready to go to LCCC. His goal was to become a physical therapist. This might all sound very common in some aspects, but he was extraordinary. Troy had cerebral palsy and was mute.

He had overcome so much, including learning to walk, something that was certainly not expected given the level of condition.

He was on MySpace and would chat with my sister. He would go see my cousin Sean Piroch perform. Yes, he had limitations, but still, he led a pretty normal life.

A week ago Troy was found outside his home completely on fire. The neighbors put the fire out and he was med-evaced to Metrohealth in Cleveland. There, they performed massive amounts of surgery. Unfortunately, Troy had 2nd and 3rd degree burns on between 85% and 90% of his body. He also had sustained brain damage. When his kidneys started to fail, it was determined that best course of action was to let him go. He died Thursday evening.

Throughout all of procedures at Metrohealth he was kept in a drug induced coma, and in all honesty, that is the only thing that gives me comfort in this whole scenario along with knowing that the doctors at Metro, truly some of the best the world has to offer especially in the area of burn ward. Very little else has comforted me.

When I first heard about this I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I thought that maybe it was a kitchen fire issue and that he was burned, it was nothing to the extent that actually happened. Then the horror set in.

My poor sister went up to Metrohealth, since no one was really able to get any information due to my Aunt being out of touch with the family during the event (which is completely understandable given the situation) and HIPAA regulations preventing Metro to fill us in (also understandable). When she called and told me the true nature of everything going on I was at the Primate exhibit at the Zoo with my son, my mother and my brother for a work related event. I wanted to lay on the ground right there and curl up into a ball and cry. All I kept thinking was, dear God, he couldn’t even scream for help.

Then the shit started to fly. The first stance the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department took was this was a suicide. Yes, he had gasoline on him, but uh, no. Don’t buy it at all. The main reason? Simple, Troy’s impairment left him unable to work a button, much less a childproof lighter. There was no gas in the house so it wasn’t the oven, and there were no matches. So the question of how he would have actually managed to light the fire himself negated those claims. Not to mention the fact he showed no signs of clinical depression including the fact that he had plans for future events, something people contemplating suicide normally don’t do and was a devote Catholic (aka Suicide = Hell). The Sheriff’s Department personnel’s behavior, especially towards family members was plain disgusting. Even if this had been a suicide attempt the fact that anyone would say or behave in such a manner fills me with such disgust that it makes me physically ill. Things said in private I will not repeat, but needless to say, I am glad I was not present or I might have lost control.

Then the Chronicle Telegram posted a pic where all that is showing is the Sheriff’s car and my cousin’s shoes and socks, charred on the edges. I honestly have no idea what would possess them to post such a picture. If this is how you are finding out about someone you know being in critical condition after being burned alive that should be one of the last images that should be shown. It frankly showed such a complete disconnect between reporting actual news and going for a sensationalistic presentation. I was disappointed, but not surprised.

Then the next day it was reported that the Sheriff’s Department had switched from suicide to accident. Granted, NONE of this was determined with the fire report from the Firefighters or the doctor’s/coroner’s reports. Of course, they were unable to interview Troy due to the coma, but frankly the lack of effort was amazing.

Theories about how this happened start to surface. As I heard each one what was surprising was how much Mythbusters started to be referenced. At first it was rumored it was a cigarette that was flung out and accidentally hit the gasoline on Troy. Well, there is an episode of Mythbusters that proves that can’t start a fire. Then it was that he stepped on a lighter. Once again, Mythbusters came into play because they have shown in several episodes what happens when a lighter is broken and also what a lighter looks like when it is part of a fire. There was no broken lighter or even a lighter with char marks. And since his shoes and socks were not destroyed, which if he had stepped on a lighter triggering a spark, would have been the first items to feel the impact, to me, and many others, that rules out this aspect.

There is no answer to the question how. No one is sure as to why he was covered in gasoline though he was supposedly carrying a gas can from the shed that didn’t have a lid on it, but that is a whole other part of the story that is bizarre since it involves him supposedly changing his clothes and no real answer as to why he would have been carrying the gas can in the first place. I honestly have no idea if we will ever get the answer to the how.

What is stunning is the absolute lack of character of people you expect to have character in a situation like this and surprising compassion and caring from the least likely areas. I don’t give a shit what you have done, no one, NO ONE, deserves to die this way. And yet, to many this was a joke. Posts on the newspaper website making jokes, mentions of the Darwin Awards, etc have done nothing but make me ill. For the majority of the family this is an accident that took two people Troy and another, at best, with the majority of suspect on it being malicious.

I have had an intense desire to hit someone as of late. I am filled with a level of rage I have rarely ever experienced. So at the recommendation of my boyfriend, I am writing it down in hopes that I can start to grapple with this. It is hard though because you can rationalize almost anything, at least he went quickly, he had a rich full life, he didn’t suffer, but what is there to latch onto here? There is no comfort. And for a child who deserved so much better…