The holidays are a time of reflection and gratitude. A time to take stock of our lives and count our many blessings. Because according to these four burn survivors, everything truly can change in an instant.
The holidays are a time of reflection and gratitude. A time to take stock of our lives and count our many blessings. Because according to these four burn survivors, everything truly can change in an instant. Click here to play video.
Brad Lewallen suffered burns to 70% of his body in a fireworks explosion. “I do remember a spark and I do remember the explosion,” he recalls. “I remember waiting for the helicopters, talking to the paramedic and then I wake up here 20 some days later.”
Wrangler Dunda sustained third degree burns and lost both of his legs below the knee when he came in contact with an electrical line. “Somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 volts went in my thighs and out my feet,” says Dunda. “That amount of electricity locks you up and I was thinking this is it. This is how I am going to die.”
Rowdy Blakenship was severely burned in an oilfield accident when checking an oil well. “I was flushing the pipe out to the tank and I heard a rumble that I never heard (before), so I looked towards it and just a ball of fire came and hit me.”
Austin Norton was only 9 years old when he was burned in a trash fire. He was one of the very first pediatric patients at the INTEGRIS Health Paul Silverstein Burn Center. He spent 236 days in the hospital being treated for third degree burns over 77% of his body. Now, eight years later, he still credits the burn center medical director, Christopher Lentz, M.D., for saving his life. “The first two weeks I was in a coma and then it was just surgery after surgery after surgery,” states Norton. “The man saved my life. There’s not much I can say but thank you. He’s the reason I’m still here.”
Lewallen agrees, “The burn center people got to see me at my very worst. They got to see me knocking on death’s door and I owe them my life.” He continues, “The care, the attentiveness, I can’t preach on them enough. They are amazing, just good-hearted people who love to help others, and you can just feel the joy they have in doing their work when they care for you.”
All four men say the holidays mean so much more after what they have been through. They encourage us all to never take a single day for granted and to live life with a grateful heart no matter the season.
We invite you to make a meaningful impact in the life of a real INTEGRIS Health patient. Your gift today through the INTEGRIS Health Foundation will bring hope and light when it’s needed most. Simply visit integrisgiving.org and click “give now."
