Nampa schools employee husband recovering from burn accident in Mexico
NAMPA – Gracie Buenrostro had just sat down for lunch in Nampa when her phone rang on July 25, her 12th wedding anniversary. Her sister-in-law first told her there was an accident. But the call dropped. Then her mother-in-law called and told her not to panic.
Buenrostro’s husband, Luis Barragan, who lives in Mexico, suffered severe burns because of a gas tank explosion while cooking outside for family.
“I lost it,” Buenrostro said. “I was like, ‘I need to get out of here.’ ”
Buenrostro, 31, rushed onto flights to get from Nampa to Guadalajara, Mexico, with her 9-year-old daughter Ella. They arrived by the middle of the next day. Barragan, 39, was hooked up to a ventilator in an intensive care unit for a week.
After several days, Buenrostro became impatient with the lack of care for her husband and requested a voluntary discharge for him. She took him to a private hospital in Manzanillo, Mexico, where he’s been receiving more attention from doctors and healing slowly.
As the front desk receptionist at the Nampa School District office for the past three years, Buenrostro has interacted with many people. She’s also a liaison in the district office for Spanish speakers.
Barragan is recovering from third-degree burns on his face, arms and rib cage. The recovery is ongoing, but Buenrostro’s optimism grew after changing hospitals.
“His wounds are still delicate because of how badly he’s burned, but (a doctor) said this is time-consuming,” Buenrostro said. “You have to wait until it starts getting better. He gets cleaned every day and the doctor sees him and his face is getting better. … Little by little, you could see improvements.”
After a week, Buenrostro sent Ella back to Idaho with relatives. They video chat every day to stay in touch. It’s been the longest amount of time Buenrostro and Ella have been separated since Ella was born.
Barragan, though, has spent most of Ella’s life in Mexico. Because of immigration laws, Barragan had to spend 10 years in Mexico before returning to the U.S. as a legal citizen. The 10 years will expire in March 2023. Each winter, Buenrostro visits for about two or three weeks. Then the family goes back to FaceTime.
Weeks removed from the accident, Barragan’s condition has improved.
“He gets up now and he walks and he eats,” Buenrostro said. “He’s not delusional like he was at the other hospital because he was all drugged up. He’s just doing so much better. His wounds may not be healing as fast, but he’s doing better.”
When Buenrostro’s coworkers got word of what happened, they immediately brainstormed ways they could help. Instead of pooling just their money together, Kathleen Tuck and Shelley Bonds put together a GoFundMe page to help cover medical costs.
The Nampa Chamber of Commerce shared the link on Facebook and, as of Friday, the account has raised more than $5,000.
Tuck, Nampa School District’s communications director, said Buenrostro is well-liked, knowledgeable and just a friendly face.
“Anyone who knows her knows how much her husband and daughter mean to her,” Tuck said. “Family is just her world. In that way, it affected people more to know how much her family meant to her, to have something like this happen.”
It’ll still take more time for Barragan’s wounds to close and for new skin to start to grow. In the meantime, Buenrostro is appreciative of the support.
“We are both so grateful,” Buenrostro said. “Everyone’s been wonderful, family, friends.”