Cameron Alverson's New Year's Eve did not go as expected when a firework exploded in his hand while he was celebrating, causing him to lose more than half of his fingers on one hand.
“I lit off two fireworks, and then the third one was like a dud and I went to like check it and it like just blew up in my hand,” says Aversion.
Alverson was shooting off fireworks when one did not fully go off. When he went to go pick it up, the mortar shell exploded in his hand.
“I couldn't see anything and my hands were numb. I finally got like sight for like 10 seconds and then I see like one of my hands was like missing,” says Alverson.
Once Alverson came to, he ran inside to get his girlfriend, Teresa, and they rushed to the hospital.
“On the way to the hospital, I could just like feel like going out like I felt like I was like blacking out almost,” says Alverson. “I get in the car, the truck and then there's a phone charger in there, so I started to tourniquet my arm off with a phone charger. I start like looping it around my own arm."
Alverson ended up losing his thumb, index finger, and middle finger. He was airlifted to Salt Lake City and is uncertain if he will keep his remaining fingers. Bozeman Fire Marshall, Scott Mueller, says you should never approach fireworks once they've been lit and make sure you are protecting yourself.
“If you were to approach it, and it hadn't gone off, maybe having a metal bucket or something to actually cover it to protect yourself," says Fire Marshall Mueller.
Alverson does not have health insurance and says he won't be able to work construction for a long time. His girlfriend has started a GoFundMe hoping for support.
“As many people can donate money as possible to maybe help pay for like a prosthetic in the future and like medical bills or anything,” says Alverson.
