Surviving a kerosene fire at six 73 percent burns and a life shadowed by bullying
A man who burned 73 percent of his skin in a horrific fire accident when he was six years old has recalled the brutal bullying he faced over his scars. Terry McCarty's life was changed forever after a mistake by his brothers resulted in his whole body going up in flames. What came next was years of grueling pain and extensive surgeries as doctors tried to fix the damage. "I got down there about the same time that they were successful at lighting this bowl of kerosene on fire," he explained. "But when it caught fire it scared them so they kicked the bowl. What they didn't know is that they kicked the bowl in my direction. The bowl flew at me and hit me in the chest, wrapping the flames contents around me." Even now, more than three decades on, McCarty said he remembers the moment distinctively.
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Emergency response and the long road to recovery
After the incident, a neighbor who was getting out of his car noticed McCarty on fire and thankfully grabbed a sleeping bag from his trunk and threw it on top of him, which put out the blaze. He was rushed to the hospital where he learned that 73 percent of his body had been burned. Recovery was long and painful. He was in the hospital for an entire year and has had a whopping 58 surgeries. He recalled spending over five hours a day changing his bandages, and being covered in scars meant he constantly dealt with stares in public and cruel comments from classmates. And when he finally was allowed home, adjusting to his new body was extremely difficult.
The scars bring constant stares and cruel taunts from classmates
"I started to really get a lot of bullying and teasing and was getting made fun of," he admitted. "[And] a lot of people would stare at me [in public]. I mean I still get people that stare at me today but back then I had a lot of staring and the name calling." "I've been called everything from Michael Myers to Freddy Krueger to burnt toast, all sorts of names." "It was a very difficult transition for me to process because here I am thinking to myself, \"Oh my God I actually survived all of this and I've gone through all these surgeries and I've had to overcome all of these things\" and people don't understand those things." Being covered in scars meant he constantly dealt with stares in public and cruel comments from classmates.
Choosing to stand up: becoming a volunteer firefighter
As an adult McCarty became a volunteer firefighter and came 'face to face' with flames a lot. 'It took me a long time to really get a grasp on trying to accept that people were like that. I couldn't figure it out for a long time.' 'I did it mainly out of spite,' he reflected. '[It felt like] my one shot to take myself from being a victim to being a survivor.' McCarty had to come 'face to face with fire' a lot during his training, but admitted that it was 'not triggering for him at all.' He spent two and a half years working as a volunteer firefighter before he left to work full-time for a non-profit organization that supports children who are burn victims like him.
From firefighting to advocacy: a survivor helps others and finds purpose
And now, he is a certified peer support specialist who works with people going through addiction recovery. He is extremely outspoken about what he went through in the hopes that it'll give strength to others who may have gone through something similar. "You are not what happened to you. You are what you choose to become after trauma," he concluded.
