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by LUIS PEREZ
After months of recovery, the three Jackson Heights sisters who lost their parents in a pre-Christmas blaze last year are preparing to go home.
Naomi Siguencia, 7, Alexandra Sandoval, who turned 5 on Friday, and Carolina Sandoval, 3, have been recuperating from severe burns at St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside since February.
Each has had extensive skin grafts. Doctors now expect that the two youngest girls, if not all three, can move in with their aunt and legal guardian, Reyna Gomez, in about a month.
"They are all doing very, very well," said Dr. Edwin Simpser, the chief medical officer of St. Mary's, who is supervising their care. "We hope all three of them can be discharged shortly."
Unlike the two younger girls, Naomi's burns, covering more than half her body, have not entirely healed. Her throat damaged by smoke inhalation, she remains on a breathing tube, but relies on it less so, he said.
Wednesday, the girls are expecting a group visit from the firefighters who rescued them from the blaze, which was sparked by an unattended candle on Dec. 15.
Firefighters Victor Rosa, Joe Tarantini and Rod Ford are expected to stop by. Rosa, credited with pulling Naomi, her mother, Flor Pineda, 36, and a neighbor from the fire, was awarded the James Gordon Bennett Medal, the Fire Department's highest honor for valor.
The girls' father, Alex Sandoval, 30, suffered burns on two thirds of his body and died shortly afterward.
"It's a miracle that the girls are even alive," said Capt. Dan Mundi, who also responded to the fire.
Ladder 138, to which they belong, was given the unit medal for valor and four other awards.
For months now, the firefighters have occasionally visited St. Mary's. When it became clear that the girls needed financial help, they collected $3,600. That money will be used to help rebuild the girls' lives, Mundi said.
The girls' recovery has been long. For months, they dealt with painful cracking in their skin, and bad dreams.
Today, they smile more often, interact well with other children, and the younger ones devour all the Chinese food and chocolate that is placed before them, Simpser said.
But it is still a work in progress.
"I think it could be a double-edged sword," he said of Wednesday's visit. "On the one hand, the family is certainly very thankful to these firefighters, certainly Naomi is. On the other hand it's going to remind them of what happened."
Donations can be sent c/o Reyna Gomez, St. Mary's Hospital for Children, 29-01 216th St., Bayside NY 11360.
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