Just hours before a firecracker exploded in his hands outside a Gillette bar, Matthew Lynch stood onstage at the American Legion with an electric guitar slung across his shoulder, living a dream he'd chased for most of his life.
Lynch, a 41-year-old carpenter, potter and musician, spent Independence Day doing what he loved most — playing rock and roll with friends before a hometown crowd.
By midnight, he was staring at what remained of his right hand, unable to hear, his vision awash in "red, purple and stars."
"I looked down on my hand, and it was just the most mangled, crazy-looking thing I've ever seen," Lynch told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. "I was instantly in shock."
The explosion outside the Otherside Bar & Grill injured Lynch and four other people after what he described as an old firecracker he carried in his back pocket for years detonated instantly when he lit it rather than giving him time to throw it.
The blast severed most of Lynch's right hand, shattered bones throughout his left hand, peppered his face, neck and chest with shrapnel and burns, and sent him by Life Flight to Billings, Montana. In the days since, Lynch has publicly apologized, saying he feels terrible for the people who were injured alongside him.
Now recovering at home with both arms wrapped in bandages, Lynch said he keeps returning to two thoughts: the people he endangered and the life he's determined to rebuild.
Tourniquet
After finishing the American Legion concert, Lynch said he spent the evening downtown with friends before hearing about a benefit concert at Otherside.
By the time he arrived, the music was over. People stood outside talking, catching up and deciding where the night would go next.
"I had found this old firecracker I had laying around for a few years and I had it in my back pocket," he said. "I thought, 'Well, I'm just gonna be a little adventurous here, light this off', and then it just blew up right in my face. The fuse was just instant."
The blast left him deafened, nearly blinded and in shock.
He remembers seeing nothing but flashes of color.
Then he looked down.
"I kept thinking this is never going to go away," he said. "I made a mistake I could never undo."
His friend AJ immediately recognized how badly he was bleeding and shouted for a tourniquet.
Someone pulled off a belt and cinched it around Lynch's arm while they waited for first responders.
A woman Lynch had never met knelt beside him, gently held his face in her hands and kept him from looking at his injuries.
"She kept saying, 'You're gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine. Just don't look at it,'" Lynch recalled. "'Just look in my eyes. Everything's gonna be OK'."
He also praised the doctors, nurses and staff at Campbell County Memorial Hospital, saying they treated him "like family" before he was flown to Billings for emergency surgery.
Artist and Carpenter
Before the explosion, Lynch spent his days building houses, creating pottery, painting and playing guitar.
He's a carpenter following in his father's footsteps.
He's an artist whose work is featured in a monthlong exhibition at AVA Community Art Center in Gillette — a show he spent more than a year preparing.
Despite his injuries, Lynch plans to attend the opening reception for from 6-8 p.m. Thursday.
For four years, he also hosted an open jam session at Legends Lounge, welcoming musicians of every skill level to climb onstage and play.
"I've always believed in everybody's own success," he said. "Anybody can do anything."
His mother, Patricia David, said those qualities have defined him since childhood.
"His name means ‘Gift of God', and it was the perfect name for him," she said. "He has been the brightest, most joyful child you could imagine ... always kind."
Shattered Bones
"The first thing that hit me was I'm not going to be able to pick up my beautiful son and hold him for quite a while," Lynch said. "He's my whole world."
Then came another realization.
He wouldn't be able to go fly fishing with his brothers.
Then came the one that hurt most.
"My lifelong dream and mission my entire life has been to be a professional guitar player," he said.
One of the final photographs taken before the explosion shows Lynch gripping the neck of his guitar as he performed at the American Legion that afternoon.
Today, most of his right hand is gone.
His left hand is held together with pins and hardware after surgeons repaired shattered bones.
Lynch's mother, a retired nurse, said the injuries are among the worst she has seen.
She said she was equally moved by the apology Lynch posted publicly after the accident.
Strong Support System
Despite everything, Lynch refuses to believe his music is over.
He said doctors are optimistic that his left hand will recover.
"I'm going to get a bionic prosthetic, and I'm going to be playing guitar again someday," he said. "It's going to be awesome."
His optimism has been strengthened by the people around him.
His twin brother immediately drove to Billings after hearing what happened.
His mother has helped care for him.
Most of all, he credits Kathryn Schwartz, the mother of their son.
"I've got to spend so much time with the mother of my child," Lynch said. "We've just been reconnected, and that's awesome."
Before Lynch even returned home from the hospital, Schwartz had cleaned his house, prepared a place for him to recover and, he said, "hasn't left my side."
Friends he hadn't spoken to in 20 years have reached out.
"I've probably had a dozen people I don't even know message me," Lynch said. "The outreach from this community has just been immense, and I am so grateful."
'Focus On The Blessings'
Lynch knows the months ahead will include surgeries, rehabilitation and learning to navigate life with a devastating disability.
He also knows the outcome could have been much worse.
Shrapnel struck his face, neck and chest.
"It could have been so much worse," he said. "I still believe God's got a plan for all of us."
He hopes others learn from what happened — how quickly one impulsive decision can change a life.
But he also hopes they remember something else.
"Stay optimistic," Lynch said. "Life has a lot of suffering, but we've got to focus on the blessings and the goodness too and just be grateful that we're alive to even begin with."
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
