It's been six weeks since an explosion left him with burns covering his body, Thursday a Spooner man got to come home.

Cory LaBonte remembers starting the fork lift, that investigators say sparked an explosion at the Cortec chemical plant in March. His sister says he had nightmares about it almost every night since. Now, Cory is working to move forward, one step at a time, starting with Thursday’s benefit in his honor.

“They’re on their way. Yes! Woo hoo!” Cory LaBonte's Sister Sheila Clark is all smiles as she gets off her cell phone outside the Northwest Sports Complex in Spooner. Inside a benefit for her brother is in full swing.

LaBonte is a little late to the party in his honor. But, as Clark eagerly awaits her brother's arrival, her excitement is evident.

"We didn't think he'd be able to make it at all,” she says. “He got out of the hospital today and he was bound and determined to be here today."

And when LaBonte’s truck pulls up, he is just as determined to leave his wheelchair unused on the sidewalk.

“Want a ride, Cory?” Someone asks. Cory declines. He’s going to walk.

"He remembers everything. In his mind it was so horrific. He said all he could think about was that he needed to get out of that building. He knew if he didn't, he was going to die," Clark says.

LaBonte's co-worker Aaron Merchant also remembers the fire that day in March.

"He says he remembers he was trapped. Unfortunately, he remembers burning. He says he was yelling and there was so much smoke he could barely breathe. He remembers the firefighters grabbing his belt buckle and pulling him out," Merchant's Sister Eva Johnston says.

Johnston says her brother continues to recover at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minnesota. She hopes he can come home in a few weeks.

"He's our miracle. He's such a hard-worker. He worked so hard all his life to get where he's at. He’s had a lot of struggles, but he’s determined. That’s what I believe got him through this. He made it through because of his children and his new wife Susan," Johnston says.

So, Thursday night, with his co-worker working to get home, Cory LaBonte, with his girlfriend and his sister by his side and his dad just two steps behind, makes his way to the microphone.

"I don't know what else to say besides thank you. You’ll never know how much this means to me. Thank you."

A few simple words to a tearful crowd from a man focused on moving forward.

An investigator from OSHA told me they are still in the middle of their investigation. He says OSHA has six months from the explosion to issue any citations.