The Drs: Man Called 911 For A Date
The Doctors talked to David Rothenberg about how he is using art to overcome the tragedy that changed his life. (Kenneth Sponsler / Shutterstock.com)
The Doctors shared the shockingly funny story of a Florida man who called 911 three times for a date. The dispatch operator spent six minutes on the phone who was clearly drunk as he was slurring his words and laughing. He even asked the woman what she thought of handcuffs. The cops responded to the calls by arresting the man and charging him with a misdemeanor.
The Doctors shared that emergency dispatchers answer 240 million calls every year, and every second counts. So as funny as it may seem, that call could have prevented someone from getting the help they needed.
The Drs: Son Set On Fire By His Own Dad
The Doctors then switched gears to share the story of an unthinkable crime that changed a man named David’s life forever, two decades ago. The story made national news and it’s a story that many people still remember to this day. David Rothenberg was 6 years old when he was burned and almost killed. His father Charles was charged with attempted murder and arson.
David shared that for the first two years of his life, his father was in prison for forging checks and during that time, his mother divorced his father. When he got out of prison, the custody battle ensued, and at one point Charles decided that if he couldn’t have David, no one could. Charles poured kerosene all over David after giving him a sleeping pill, then lit a match, walked across the street and called police.
The Drs: David Rothenberg 20 Years Later
David described the pain as having nails put into your body, as he had burns over 90% of his body. He had a 20% chance of living more than 48 hours, but he overcame the odds. They had to put skin grafts all over his body, but he’s happy to be alive. He’s now an artist and wants to share his experiences with people. Justin and Eden are two of his friends, and shared that you can’t help but be inspired by David’s optimism and courage.
The Drs: Calmare Pain Treatment
David joined The Doctors on stage, sharing that his legal name is actually Dave Dave because he changed his name after the tragedy happened. He explained that two years ago he changed his name to liberate himself from his father and to establish himself as an artist. David shared that he’s finally almost to the point in his life where pain no longer dictates him. He said he’s currently undergoing a treatment called Calmare where he has electrodes placed all over his body to scatter messages to the brain to shut off pain centers in the brain to those areas. He said it’s changed his life for the better.
The Doctors had Dr Ward Wagner, David’s doctor, on the phone, who explained that they use the pain treatment often for different types of pain conditions. He said the conditions that respond the best are neurogenic or neuropathic. If there’s current tissue damage happening, it won’t be much help. But for post-shingles patients or burn survivors, it can really help them.
The good news is that because of this treatment, they can pull back on the use of narcotics or sedatives as pain management techniques. Dr Wagner said his goal is to help people get off the adverse side effects of the other pain managers.
The Drs: Burn Survivor Uses Art To Manage Pain
David said he believes that art is an expression that we all have and we all have different challenges. He’s currently showing at an art gallery in Las Vegas. He said he created his brand to inspire others to live their lives at an elevated level. He said through doing that we become healthier people and better individuals.
Leave a Reply