Experience: I suffered terrible burns as a child then became a firefighter

"I had sustained third- and fourth-degree burns on 73% of my body. I was taken to a local hospital, but I needed specialist care, so was flown to a centre in Las Vegas. It took me a year of being treated at a number of hospitals to recover. Bandage changes would take five hours, and even bending down would cause my sides to crack open because the skin was so thin."

"Soon, I was even suffering from surgery burnout where the body has had too many surgeries and can't recover and was sent to a medically trained foster home. I stayed there for four years. My dad was always my rock throughout. When I was 17, he passed away from brain cancer."

At age six in Hawthorne, Nevada, the narrator suffered severe burns covering 73% of the body when brothers accidentally kicked over a bowl of kerosene near an open flame. A neighbor extinguished the flames using a sleeping bag. The victim was transported to specialized burn centers in Las Vegas for intensive treatment lasting a year. Recovery involved painful five-hour bandage changes and multiple surgeries, eventually leading to surgery burnout requiring placement in a medically trained foster home for four years. Throughout this ordeal, family bonds strengthened despite the trauma. The father provided crucial support until his death from brain cancer when the narrator was seventeen, prompting further existential questioning about life's challenges.

Read at www.theguardian.com