A 12-year-old boy from South Los Angeles is facing a long recovery from a painful upcoming surgery after an illegal firework went off in his hand during a post-Fourth of July celebration.  

Anthony Gibson was with his younger brother when someone handed him the illegal firecracker. He said he took it with him around the corner from his grandmother’s house.  

“It was in my hand, and I tried to light it and it blew up,” the 12-year-old told KTLA.  

The rocket ruptured Gibon’s left hand, burned his face and much of his body. The explosion also scattered debris particles in his eyes. The reality of the incident horrified his mother and grandmother.  

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I didn’t grasp it right away, I didn’t want to believe it,” Yadira Gonzalez, Gibon’s grandmother, said. “I immediately ran to see what was going on and when I got to him, it was like something traumatizing I will never forget.”  

The trauma is something the family, including the 12-year-old himself, wants to share with other families and children. 

“If it can happen to me, then it can happen to anyone else,” he said.  

“It ain’t everything it’s made to be,” Ashley Chamberlain, his mother, said. “It’s more dangerous than it is fun. It’s not something I would want to see someone going through.”  

Gibson has already spent a significant amount of time in the hospital and is due for another major surgery this Sunday. Doctors have to remove the last of his fingers because they aren’t getting enough oxygen at this point. After that, he will be fitted for a prosthetic hand.  

Remarkably, the youngster has been able to push through the pain, playing a couple of rounds of basketball with his brothers, a passion he plans to pursue once he’s fully recovered.  

“I just hope that I have a safe recovery and I get better, and I’ll probably be able to play basketball again,” he said.  

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Gibson’s family pay for medical expenses, physical therapy and, eventually, a prosthetic hand.