Local Nurse Turns Tragedy Into Life's Work to Help Others

At age five on a spring day in April, my home in southern West Virginia was destroyed by fire and I received third degree burns over 50 percent of my body. The year was 1959 and there were no burn centers. My odds of survival were slim to none but I survived. Through all of the hospitalizations and operations, my grandmother insisted that this tragedy had happened for a purpose. It took years of reconstructive work to restore my appearance and make my hands functional. I graduated in the top 10 of my high school class and then, to most peoples’ amazement, I became a registered nurse. My career at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has been varied. I have worked in the operating room, neuro-trauma ICU, cardiothoracic ICU, the Emergency Department, as a flight nurse, a kidney-pancreas transplant coordinator and on outpatient medical and surgical units. Throughout my nursing career, I believe I’ve been able to bring comfort to many people. Through the Phoenix Society, an organization that provides support to burn victims, I became a S.O.A.R. (Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery) Peer Supporter. I visit the Wake Forest Baptist Burn Unit to offer encouragement to burn victims, their family and friends. When the time is appropriate, I invite them to attend our monthly support group meetings 

Through the volunteer program I met Dr. James H. Holmes, IV, director of the Burn Unit. He surprised me with an invitation to attend the 2009 National Leadership Conference of the American Burn Association (ABA) in Washington, D.C., to lobby congressmen and senators for approval of H.R. 723/ S 366. This bill would amend the Social Security act to eliminate the five-month waiting period for Social Security disability and the 24-month waiting period for Medicare benefits in cases of individuals with disabling burn injuries who are otherwise not covered. Not only will H.R. 723/S 366 provide coverage for the seriously burned patient, but it will also help ensure the survival of our nation’s burn centers -- a valuable national resource that is already in jeopardy. The United States has only 125 burn centers with a total bed capacity of just over 1,800. In many states, the burn centers have closed because of financial challenges. These closures occur at a time when the federal government is asking burn centers to expand their capacity to deal with mass casualty scenarios. More than one-third of those hospitalized in New York on 9/11 had severe burn injuries. The Department of Homeland Security has recognized that there would be mass burn casualties in terrorist acts and there is a need for appropriate reparedness activities.

According to the ABA, more than 1 million people suffer burn injuries annually in the United States; over 500,000 require medical treatment; 45,000 are hospitalized; and 4,500 will die. Burn centers admit about 25,000 annually, or 200 admissions per institution per year. Most burn injuries occur in young people aged 20-40 years, and severe burn injuries represent one of the leading causes of lost work years. As I waited for my flight to D.C., I recognized N.C. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx who was on my flight. I simply could not believe it! I approached her, introduced myself, and told her the purpose of my trip. She offered me a ride to my hotel and invited me to the Capitol to experience voting on the floor of the House of Representatives. Her staff was very gracious and made the arrangements to get me through security and into the balcony of the House. The next day, Dr. Holmes, myself and other attendees of the conference lobbied representatives of the House and Senate to become co-sponsors of H.R. 723/S 366. As I walked through the long halls of the House and Senate, my grandmother’s words rang out once again, “This tragedy happened to you for a purpose.”