Former Patient and Burn Survivor Reflects on Care Journey 40 Years After Accident

Melodie was just 7 years old when her family thought she wouldn’t survive a serious injury that left her with second- and third-degree burns over a third of her body.

“I know the doctors told my dad to start making arrangements for my funeral,” Melodie said.

That was more than 40 years ago, and Melodie credits her survival to the specialized burn care at Shriners Children’s. Despite the decades that have passed, Melodie still remembers the accident that changed her life and the hospital that gave her a chance at the life she has now.

Melodie was living in Indiana when she sustained a serious burn in a cooking fire. Melodie managed to smother most of the flames herself, but she still had serious burns across her body.

She was rushed to a local hospital and wasn’t expected to survive until a family member had a chance encounter with a Shriner.

“They heard I was burned a couple of days ago and immediately said they should get me to Shriners hospital,” Melodie said.

She was loaded onto a bus and nobles from Hadi Shriners drove more than three hours to Shriners Children’s Ohio (then located in Cincinnati).

“My dad told me I was on my way to the best hospital in the world,” Melodie said.

Melodie said it didn’t take long to realize her dad was right.

“As soon as I arrived, they had a bag of toys and books waiting for me,” she said. “And there were other kids who were also burned and looked just like me.”

She spent three months at the hospital, first learning how to sit up, then stand and eventually walk. While she recalls some of the painful dressing changes and skin grafts, she also remembers wheelchair races with other patients, gifts at Christmas and staff helping her with schoolwork.

Melodie returned home to Indiana three months after her accident but continued to return to Shriners Children’s for check-ups and pressure garment fittings.

It wasn’t until she was a teenager that Melodie learned her dad never received a bill for the weeks of care she received.

“I can’t even describe the sense of relief knowing that my dad didn’t have to pay for my care, and it was covered by Shriners,” she said.

Now as a mother herself to two boys, Melodie is reminded of her gratitude every time she sees a Shriner.

“I always stop and say, ‘I’m alive because of you.’”