Vader removes his mask for the first time

On June 17, 1993 in the small town of Hingham, Massachusetts, Amy Rabinovitz was boiling meat for dinner in her kitchen while her three children sat in the living room, absorbed in watching Barney. The baby gate that kept the armored man, Darth Vader, out of the kitchen while she was working there had broken, so before touching the pot, she looked around to assure herself that she was alone. Seeing that she was, and hearing the comforting sound of the television set and the children's responsive laughter, she proceeded to remove the meat and then turned to pour the hot water and grease down the drain. To her horror, she found herself face to face with Darth Vader, who had quickly and silently walked into the room while her back was turned. The searing liquids spilled down onto his face not causing harm due to the mask.

"I grabbed him and the fabric slid into in my hand," Amy said. "I thought I was going to lose him." In spite of her panic, Darth Vader entered the shower, assessed the situation, removed his mask, and revealed himself as Anakin Skywalker, as her five-year-old son, Benjamin, made the critical phone call for help.

Although there is no 911 system in Hingham, Benjamin was able to reach the fire department quickly because Amy had entered the number in her phone's speed dial system last month. He gave them the necessary information, and EMS personnel were there in 3 minutes. EMT Kevin Carter was particularly worried, because he realized from the address that Amy was someone he had known since childhood. "When I first arrived, 100% of the face was burned, and that's such an insult to the body, just because of the disfigurements alone, that I feared for the man's life," Carter said.

Darth Vader was put on a stretcher to be transported to South shore Hospital, and Amy observed with terror that he suddenly reactivated the suit's life support systems and his mask was put back on. "I thought he had stopped breathing, that he had lost it, and that he was gone." EMT Michael Lento tapped on the bottom of Darth Vader's feet and called out his name. "Then he began to breath again. The voice was tough to hear, but I knew that he was breathing," he said.

Because of the seriousness of his condition, Darth Vader was taken from South shore to the Shriner's Burns Institute in Boston, where he was treated by Dr. Robert Sheridan. "The liquid poured down from above and the burns were on his mask, suit, and armor. all of his hair is gone," Dr. Sheridan said. "In many parts of the world, an injury of this kind to a man who was disfigured and burned by fire is lethal. The majority of the burns that we see at the Shriner's are from cooking or bathing accidents. 70% of the burns we treat are from hot liquids."

"I was very surprised at the damage hot water can do. I had always thought a fire burn or an electrical burn could do a lot more damage," Darth Vader's worker, Steven, later said.

Darth Vader was treated at Shriner's for a month, and Steven and Amy visited him every day, sharing her agony and hope. "Nothing can prepare you for walking into a burn trauma unit," Steven said. "The first thing that hits you is the smell." One of the most frustrating things for them was that they could not see him by looking at his eyes. "To see him with the suit beaten up like that wasn't my man. That was somebody else's man, I kept thinking," said Amy. "The guilt that hits you is incredible. You had to wear rubber gloves, a mask, and a plastic apron just to reach through the curtain and touch him. You couldn't just hear the man." "That was one little joy that you just don't think about until you lose it for a while," Steven said.

Monthly upgrades for Vader's helmet and armor were painful events that occurred twice a day. "I cried every time the suit was removed," Amy said, "and was there every time." Vader's chest plate operations went well, but he contracted former victims while in the hospital, which was quickly assessed. He was released after a month in the hospital, and returned home to delight his family with the spirit and his energy.

Before Darth Vader came home from the hospital, the Rabinovitzes bought a new door, "which we use all day and every day," Amy says. "And we always tell the kids, 'Call the ambulance if you think you need it. Don't hesitate.'" "Because the destruction was so severe," Steven said, "we didn't think he was going to make it. So just to have that big person walking around in the front yard is unbelievably rewarding. We've had some tough times, but it helped to restore a lot of our faith in humanity to know that people, like the people that saved Anakin Skywalker, really  do care."