DJ AM has been put into a medically-induced coma so that he can have skin grafts to try to replace some of the “extensive” damage from burns to his face. According to US Weekly, the doctors at the hospital said he’s lucky to be alive. From the phrasing it’s hard to tell if the mean he’s lucky to be alive because four of the six people on the plane died, or because the extent of his injuries are so severe.
They also noted that AM was able to call his mom from the ambulance.
DJ AM “was completely terrified and traumatized” after his jet crash early Friday, but he was conscious long enough inside the ambulance to call his mother, a source tells Usmagazine.com.
During the emotional phone call, DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, let her know he was injured and going to the hospital, the source says.
He is currently in a doctor-induced coma so he can undergo skin grafts in an attempt to repair some of the extensive burn damage.
The medical staff considers him lucky to be alive, as the crash killed four people and also severely injured Travis Barker. (TMZ.com reports Barker was burned from the waist down.)
Meanwhile, a pal tells Us Goldstein’s ex fiancee Nicole Richie “wishes only the best for Adam and hopes he recovers from this.”
[From US Magazine]
DJ AM’s brother-in-law Benjamin Long told People that he is a survivor and has pulled through a lot of intense battles in the past. The family is doing their best to stay hopeful and positive.
DJ AM’s sister, Lara, and her husband, Benjamin Long, learned the news of the plane crash – in which Barker and DJ AM were badly burned and four others were killed – from a phone call from AM’s mother on Saturday morning.
“We’re in shock,” Benjamin Long told PEOPLE. “Nobody expects something like this. We’re waiting to hear more.”
“The whole thing is crazy,” said Benjamin Long. “We’re thankful that he made it. And we feel horrible about those who didn’t. It’s just awful.”
He added that his bother-in-law is a survivor. “He flies all the time,” says Long. “A lot of people know his story. He’s pulled through a lot of things in the past.”
[From People]
Long has a good point about all the challenges A.M. has overcome before. After surviving years of abuse from his father, A.M. conquered a cocaine addiction and beat suicidal depression. He also lost a tremendous amount of weight after having gastric bypass surgery and has managed to keep his weight stable for two years since then, which is no small feat. That kind of mentality will really serve him well. Our thoughts are with all the plane crash victims and their families.
Here’s DJ AM and fellow plane crash survivor Travis Barker arriving to perform a set together at club LAX in Vegas on June 18th. Header of AM at the MTV Movie Awards on September 7th. Images thanks to WENN.
He is a close pal of Samantha Ronson,she was actually promoting a new cd of his, last night at her gig in the Roxy from what i read on other sites.
What a horrible accident.And poor families of the dead.And this guy seems to have been throu so much in his life too.
If he was talking, that’s good – isn’t it?
He was abused? I had no idea all the things he dealt with. God bless the poor guy.
Having dealt with severe burn victims and the trauma they endure afterward, even with successful surgeries- death is preferable.
One of my closest friends was burned when she was 3 years old,she had 90% in her whole body,in an accident with her brother.She was lucky cause she was a todler and now only her face remains burned in some places,while the skin on her whole body except some parts of her hands,is just fine.Life is sweet.But i must admit we are very protective of her and i get angry at the looks she gets from people when we go out. 😳
I hope they can repair his face. I once saw a burn victim and like Vdantev, I thought death was an easier option. I know it sounds harsh. Hopefully he can pull through this. My prayers go out to them.
Hope I didn’t sound too harsh or judgmental, but- damn. 🙁
It is rare that I am emotionally affected enough by a celebrity tragedy that I actually feel my heart break a little and fight back the tears. This is one of those rare times. I feel horrible for the families of the people who lost their lives; this is a devastating loss to overcome. I also feel deep sympathy for Travis Barker and the horrible injuries he has endured and know that this is a life-changing tragedy. I haven’t heard as much about the extent of his injuries as I have DJ AM’s, but my fiance survived a tragic accident that burned about 30% of his body and required multiple skin grafts and years and years of physical therapy to recover. When he first heard this news today he said he couldn’t talk about it because it brought back such painful memories. He said that at the time if given a choice he would have rather been dead. His burns are from the shoulders down and he NEVER lets anyone see him without a shirt. It always breaks my heart a little each time I see him grab for a tshirt to put on first thing each morning. The reports that are coming out about DJ AM make his injuries sound extremely serious and possibly disfiguring. His burns are said to cover 50% of his body; including his face. That is something he will never be able to hide. He has a history of having overcome so many hardships in life from a cruelly abusive father, overcoming drug addiction that he used to cope with his depression and his hatred of his body image due to obesity. He lost more than 100 pounds after having gastric bypass surgery and has worked hard to successfully keep it off in addition to being completely sober for over 9 years. In no way do I think he is a vain person, but he is someone who has suffered so much in his life that I really worry about how he will deal with this unexpected trauma. I think it is important to point out that a witness at the scene said DJ AM even tried to go back to the jet to see if the other four people could be saved. I don’t know how he was able to do this, or if perhaps this added to his injuries. In either event, it demonstrates what a selfless and caring person he is, even while going through the most devastating event of his tough life. My heart hurts for him and I hope he has lots of love and support around him. I know from experience that he will need it to recover both emotionally and physically from this; as it will be for Travis too. I hope the two of them can build upon the bond they already have and support each other through this nightmare that they had the misfortune to share. 😥
cooment 8, normally i don’t feel i have time for such long comments, but i read yours, and brava. Well said. My heart breaks for all of the deceased, their families and friends, and for the survivors. The pain, both physical and emotional, all will face in the coming days/weeks/months possibly years, is going to be such an incredible trial. God Bless.
It strikes a chord in our humanity to feel for others, fan or not. Trauma and the empathy with which we move with it, separates us from the inhuman.
With burn patients talking initially is not too surprising, the next 48 hours are crucial as a third space shift occurs and he could get worse or die.
Who is this guy though?
God bless DJ AM and the families of the ones involved
What is heartbreaking is that Travis Barker chartered the plane so his asst Chris could be with his wife who went into labor with their second child. Chris died in the accident and his poor wife had to be told during labor her husband died on the way home to be with her.
This is just so sad on so many levels. I hope the families of the deceased can find some peace, the injured freedom from pain and recovery.
This is sooo sad, but I’m glad he’s receiving the best care possible! I just sent him a get well message on a website I heard about. I don’t know if anyone else would like to, but if so, it’s http://www.getwelldjam.com.
This is all so sad. Tonight I’m going to meditate and send compassionate, healing thoughts for DJ AM and Travis and the families involved.
poor guy 🙁 my heart goes out to him!
masquedanc Thats a great post and i must say its even greater you are there for your man,and it must be hard for you too,but thats true love and you are so great.My friend needs 2 hours just for make up to cover her marks on the face when we go out.And until some years ago she was sure she will never have a boyfriend,yet she has had two relationships and that lifted her selfesteem so much.Not all people stay in the looks.Maybe the majority but not all.
Great post.
just to update on something Jinxy said – more recent reports have said that Chris Barker’s wife is not pregnant; others have said that they have a young baby. Poor family 🙁 .
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b30123_rep_wife_of_barker_pal_chris_baker_not.html
i was never a fan of these two, but im praying they pull through-i cant imagine going through something like that. burns can be quite deadly at any percentage-you lose body fluids, your temperature becomes unstable and internal organs are usually damaged. the skin grafts will just be horrible. i dont care what they look like after the whole thing is said and done-they are so lucky to be alive. im praying that they both live through this-both mentally and physically.
@masquedanc – great post, very heartfelt and moving.
And ditto what everyone else has said here, awful situation for everyone concerned.
I echo so many others and their statements. I couldn’t post on this yesterday for some reason…maybe it’s because I fly a lot for my job…kinda hits close to home. After reading all of your comments though, I have to add that my thoughts and prayers go out to both of the survivors and their families as well as deep heartfelt sorrow for the families of the deceased.
thanx Izzy 😐
Besides being a ‘celebrity DJ’ he’s Nicole Richie’s ex when she was at her most skeletal – they were papparazzo favorites
i found this EXCELLENT interview with DJ AM from earlier this year.
http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2008/01/dj-am
@xiaoecho – My plastic surgeon & I have become pretty friendly over the 2 years he’s been treating me for scars from a bad car accident – during one appointment we got to talking about the enormous amount of trauma hospital ERs see, & he talked about doing his clinicals in a burn unit several years back. He mentioned that it was really heartbreaking to be speaking to patients who had major burns – 50, 70, 90 percent of their skin was gone, or their face was unrecognizable, and he said, they would calmly be speaking to him, mostly because of the drugs & the fact that their nerve endings burned off also in these injuries…but he said the worst part was to be calmly asking how they were feeling when he knew they wouldn’t survive the night. I guess it’s pretty common for patients to be talking right after their injuries, shock and all that. I wish these two the very best & my heart goes out to the other victims..I can say from experience that nearly dying in an accident like that changes everything. I hope DJ AM & Barker can pull through & become stronger and even more resilient than they were before this happened.
Ninjajeje……yeah, you’ve got a point there about the nerve endings and shock being a factor right after the injury. I guess my immediate thought was of the horrible scarring and how tight the skin is pulled, although I’ve never seen it, I’ve read it can be like pork crackle (ugh! gruesome)I honestly wouldn’t wish burns on anybody and I truly admire anyone who gets through third degree burns – getting a steam burn from the kettle is enough for me
@vdantev – My husband and I agree to your statement that death is preferable (one’s opinion though).
My sister-in-law’s friend was trapped in the WTC building on 9/11. She was on the cover of TIME magazine – the picture of a firemen carrying a young women.
I saw her every Christmas-Eve at my brother’s house. Though she has had 11 surgeries so far (lots of nerve damage), she still has a long way to go before she can wear any type of summerwear.
Very sad indeed.
It is very very sad. I feel for both of them and hope that they pull through. I have to agree with what others have said in that I would rather die than be badly disfugured from burns. I have seen a few people around with bad burns to their faces and it is awful. The ones that I have seen haven’t got noses and have very little hair on their head. Even though you try not to it is hard not to stare at them.
I am a student nurse and my lecturer said that burns victims have to be kept in hot rooms because they no longer have their skin for insulation and the risk of infection is very high because the skin is the best defence that our body has against microorganisms.
When I was a teenager, I was severely burned over a VERY SMALL area after a firecracker went off unexpectedly in my hand.
I can tell you that the time immediately following a severe burn is a piece of cake. There is virtually no pain. Once a little time passes, well, I feel physically ill thinking about what these guys are about to go through. 😥