Former Shriners Children’s Ohio patient Steven wears his life on his skin.
There’s the ink from more than 14 tattoos and patches of dark and light beside raised lines, bumps and swirls. Every scar is like a map you can trace to the accident that changed his body forever.
When he was 14 years old he sustained second- and third-degree burns over most of his body after a gas leak triggered an explosion at his home in West Virginia.
He was eventually transferred to Shriners Children’s Ohio where he stayed for three months. He couldn’t sit, stand, eat or walk on his own.
“It was really frustrating sometimes,” he recalled. “I remembered how to walk, write, eat and lift things, but my body just wouldn’t cooperate.”
But Steven credits his family, the nurses, and his physical and occupational therapists for finding the right motivation: sports.
“I played football so we started small by tossing a ball or doing push-ups on my bed,” he said. “They knew playing sports was really important to me so it felt like we were accomplishing something together.”
Even after he was discharged from the hospital, it took several months before he was strong enough and understood how his body had changed to play high school football.
The skin grafts don’t sweat so Steven can’t monitor or regulate his body temperature in the same way.
“I have to take it slow and make sure I’m not overheating, and protect my skin from small cuts or tears,” he explained. A couple years after graduating high school, Steven was flipping through channels and came across a Strongman competition. He was hooked.
