Boarding Back from the Brink

Haley Avery was working with a friend on a science project when she heard a loud noise. At first, she thought she’d been shot.

 But Haley had been terribly burned. The girls were working with chemical salts, alcohol and fire. Though they tried to be careful, an explosion occurred, burning Haley over more than 57 percent of her body, including her face, stomach and groin area.

Haley was brought by ambulance to Parkland’s emergency department. When her parents arrived, Haley was completely wrapped in bandages. 

“Two to three hours later, they bathed her,” Joni Avery recalls. “We saw her for the first time without the bandages. She was completely unrecognizable. Her head was so swollen.”

The family called their priest – “It was that serious,” Joni says. But Haley was a fighter, and she responded well to the specialized care she received at Parkland’s renowned Burn Center.

Since 1962, Parkland’s Burn Center has provided state-of-the-art care to severely burned adults and children. The second largest burn unit in the United States, the center’s pioneering approach to burn injuries serves as a model for hospitals worldwide.

Each year, the Burn Center treats more than 1,000 patients. Haley was put into an induced coma for several weeks to help her survive. Very soon, she started undergoing baths during which her skin was scrubbed.

“I went in the tank with her,” her mom Joni told me. “Even though she had taken pain medicine, she could still feel it.” This procedure was necessary to help Haley recover from her terrible burns – but that was just the beginning.

Haley has undergone 11 surgeries in the three years since she was burned. She has also had months of physical and occupational therapy. She spent seven weeks in the Burn Intensive Care Unit and three months total at Parkland, and received physical therapy as an outpatient for more than a year.

Today, Haley continues to come to Parkland for occupational therapy – but she also comes as a volunteer for Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery (SOAR) for burn patients. “I’m happy to give back to Parkland,” Haley says. “The hospital saved my life and gave me hope!”

Your gift will help Parkland continue its life-saving work. And your support couldn’t come at a more important time, as Parkland embarks on a major campaign to renovate and expand its facility.

To make a donation to the Parkland Burn Center, click here!