Their stories.....

The two people I speak of in this post have never met. And yet their lives and experiences are similar. The common thread is their personal "Determination"and "Perseverance". This post is dedicate to them.

I call this "Whims Story"

The other day I was reading Whimisicalnbrainpan story. Whim tells us about the trauma she endure because of some else's total disregard for life. I have been reading her blog for sometime, I knew she had suffered some trauma and was suffering from post traumatic stress, but I didn't realize what caused it until I read this post and this. It brought tears to my eyes. What this woman has had to endure is beyond words. My dear friend "Whim" I like to call her, was burnt as a result of an attempted murder/arson gone all wrong. She tells her story as she can only tell it in the above post. The injuries she incurred resulted in her being a patient on a burn unit recovering from her injuries. The mental trauma she is still dealing with. After reading her story the only thing I could say to her was that I understood her pain, anger and frustration. Why? Because my husband is a burn survivor. I shared his story with her, in the hopes that it would give her some comfort and assist her in recognizing life does go on and it can be very productive. Although, once you read her blog you will see she is an extremely strong woman with an appetite to make the best of her life. Please read her tragic and yet amazing story. She is a true inspiration!

And then there is my guy:

After reading Whims story it got me thinking about my husband and what he has had to endured his whole life. Just getting a little teary here thinking of his story which I want to share with you.

His story begins at the age of 2 1/2 years. He got up early one morning and went looking for his grandma, with whom he spent many a morning having a cup of hot chocolate with. He couldn't find his grandma, but being the independent little boy he was, he was not going to be deterred from having his hot chocolate. While the rest of the house was asleep this little boy decides to turn on the stove in an attempt to heat the water in the kettle to make his hot drink. The kettle had come to a boil and this smart little boy knows it is time to turn of the element on the stove. In doing so, his pajama top caught fire. At first he tried to douse the fire by shaking his arm around. When this didn't work he started to cry and then scream. Unfortunately, his parents thought he was just rough housing with his brothers until the blood curdling scream came from this little child. His father came running downstairs only to see his child engulfed in flames. He grabbed him threw him down on the ground and smothered him in the rug in order to put out the fire and then ran to the car and frantically rushed him to the nearest hospital.

This little boy spent 6 long weeks in critical condition on the Paediatric ICU burn unit, with his mother keeping a bedside vigil. His journey only began once he was out of the intensive care unit and started his road to recovery. He spent 6 months in the hospital. He endured burns to 35 % of his body, the front of his chest, his back his neck and arm. As he spent so much time in bandages and medicated he forgot how to walk. He had to learn to do this all over again. He was isolated from others only to keep him free from infection. He had to learn patience, perseverance and a desire to not give up. Until he was 18 years old he spent every summer in hospital having grafts.

It is one thing to have to deal with the physical pain, but the emotional pain is another. He was teased as a child, because of his burns compounded with his unique last name. Children can be so cruel, and they don't even realize how cruel they are being. He was unable to participate in many of the average childhood activities, which made him an outcast. Out of sheer survival he became hardened and a bit of a tough kid. But that was only on the exterior. Those who knew him or cared to get to know him realized this tough kid had a heart of gold, and was the most gentle soul.

When I look at my husband I see this wonderful caring loving man. His scars to me are road maps of his life. The webbing pattern left on his back reminds me of what he has had to endure. I absolutely love them. I love how they look, and how they feel. They speak to me. He unfortunately needs more grafting as over the years his body has changed and the areas on his arm are becoming tight as is the grafting on his neck. He knows what he would have to go through in order to repair this and I don't think he's ready for it right now. Whatever he chooses I will be right by his side. He is a wonderful father, husband and son. I feel blessed he came into my life. He has never let his burns keep him from doing anything. He owned and operated a successful business, loves to ride his cross country motorbike, go boating and fishing with his dad, quadding, skiing both water and downhill, sky diving, and if that wasn't enough he started on his pilots licence, he was and still is up for anything that challenges him personally and physically.

I share these stories with you because I feel sometimes we get all wrapped up in our daily lives and worry sometimes about trivial things. Life as you see, can change for any of us in a wink of an eye. Whim and my hubby are two of my hero's that help keep me grounded.