Brady Tupper

A Journey of Meaning

My name is Brady. On Monday, July 29, 2002 at 5:55 pm I had a seizure while taking a shower and suffered second and third degree burns to my face, neck, chest, arms and back. I was 21 years old.

I only had time to turn off the cold water before falling forward into the stream of hot water. I woke up with my face covering the drain and the water filling up around my head. I straightened myself up and noticed a white film all over the wall of the bath tub. I managed to roll out of the tub and felt a wave pain as the air hit me. I pulled myself up and got a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror and saw the same white film hanging off my face as I had seen on the wall of the bath tub. I realised that it was my skin.

Although I lived at home with my family of 5, I was home alone at the time of my accident and had to call for help. I reached the phone and called my best friend Gabrielle as we had dinner plans and I knew she was home. As I was slipping into shock I was completely incoherent and while I felt I was clearly communicating what had happened to me, I was not. Through a series of painful screams Gabrielle understood that I needed help but had no idea if she should be calling the police, the fire department or an ambulance and was not prepared for the state I was in.

She arrived to me running throughout the house in an effort to expend the surge of adrenaline I was experiencing. She asked if she should call 911 but I told her that probably wasn’t necessary. She quickly realised that I needed an ambulance as she likely couldn’t drive me to a hospital considering the state I was in. At the instruction of the 911 operator, she managed to hold me in one place and wrap me in cold, wet towels while waiting for the paramedics.

The paramedics arrived and I walked outside to the gurney and immediately asked for morphine which they couldn’t give me. When I arrived at VGH I became hysterical, screaming and demanding morphine. The nurses were able to calm me. During this time, Gabrielle was frantically trying to get a hold of my family. She managed to reach my sister who was able to track down my aunt and my parents. Within 30 minutes everyone had arrived. That evening I was taken to the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn, Plastics & Trauma unit which would become my home for the next 6 weeks.

The first few days of my time at the hospital are not very clear in my memory. I remember my first burn bath and being covered in Transcyte, a material put all over my face and arms to help healing. Eventually I became more aware of my surroundings. I was in good spirits as the reality of what had happened really hadn’t set in.

I had my first surgery, a graft on my chest and upper arms, after a week in the hospital. The surgery went very well and I felt really positive about my situation. I had my second surgery, a graft on my upper back and the back of my neck, at my third week in the hospital. After this surgery my attitude changed drastically. The pain was much, much greater after my second surgery and I had trouble managing it so I was put on a morphine drip. My attitude changed drastically in my last weeks in the hospital and I became very upset about my situation.

I was finally able to leave the hospital after 6 weeks. I couldn’t stand up straight, I couldn’t lift my arms up and I couldn’t turn my head from side to side. When I was in the hospital I had the nurses and my family cover up all the mirrors so I had no idea what I looked like. The first thing I did when I got home was look in the mirror. I’m not sure what I was expecting to see but I remember being relieved at the sight of my face. It wasn’t as scarred as I had feared.

I was soon fitted for my pressure garments which I would wear every single day, 23 hours a day for the next 12 months. To help with the scars on my neck I was fitted with a garment that looked much like a hood. I pulled it over my head and all that was visible were my ears and my face. I also wore a jacket to flatten the scarring on my chest, arms and back. People stared quite a bit and asked bizarre questions about what I was wearing and why I was wearing it.

I took my recovery period very seriously. I diligently wore my garments and worked very hard at my physical therapy for a full year. I regained full mobility in my neck and arms and was able to flatten scars and maintain the shape of my neck. It was of course very painful and uncomfortable at times but I am so glad I did it. The best advice I can given to someone who has recently suffered a burn injury is to take the recovery period seriously. It is important to wear the pressure garments at all times.

Today I think I lead a pretty great life. I know that I am lucky. I have a strong network of family and friends who supported me through my recovery and still support me today. Not everyone has that. Of course people stare at me occasionally but nobody has ever been rude to me. Often people will ask what happened and I tell them my story and try to use it as an opportunity to educate someone. It may seem strange, but if I was given the opportunity to change something about myself I wouldn’t change the fact that I am burnt. I’m proud of what I went through and I’m proud of what I have accomplished since my injury and I know that I have gained more from this experience than I have lost.

By: Brady Tupper

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