Medical Breakthroughs: Surviving Burns

BACKGROUND: According to the American Burn Association, there are more than 1 million burn injuries each year. As of the early 1990’s, the rate of reportable burn injuries in the United States had declined from about 10 in 10,000 to 4.2 in 10,000. There are 500 fire and burn deaths per year. This total includes about 3,750 deaths from fires and 750 from motor vehicle and aircraft crashes, contact with electricity, chemicals or hot liquids and substances, and other sources of burn injury.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Mark McDonough, M.D., is a plastic surgeon in Orlando. He treats many burn survivors, both physically and emotionally. Dr. McDonough, himself, is a burn survivor. In the summer before his 17th birthday, Mark returned home late from his job. He immediately went to bed and was awakened within the hour by intense heat.

He says, “I could hear the sound of the flames, the crackling of the wood, the smell of the smoke, and see the light. The heat was just the most memorable thing. If you can imagine standing inside the oven on Thanksgiving Day and basting the turkey, climbing in there and closing the door, it felt that hot.”

Dr. McDonough remembers the day well. His mother and his youngest brother, Toby, did not survive. Three other brothers did make it out alive. His father was away on a business trip at the time. Mark tried to rescues his mother and youngest brother, but the heat and the smoke were overwhelming. A fireman found him passed out by the back door of his house. He burned over 60 percent of his body. He says, “My arms and hands were burned circumferentially from my fingertips to my shoulders. The whole front of my chest and half the side of my back, a lot of scattered areas of my hips, legs [were also burned].” That night set Mark on a course he never anticipated. He entered the field of medicine and practiced physical rehabilitation for eight years. He then went to medical school at age 30 and graduated with a medical degree in plastic surgery. He now combines his personal experience and medical expertise to make a difference in the lives of burn survivors.

He says, “When I meet someone who is discouraged about what’s happened to them, just by sharing my experience, they get a little bit more help, they feel so grateful, it’s very rewarding. They give me strength. They are so grateful, I can see it in their eyes, and I say, ‘That’s why I do it.’”

A DOCTOR’S ADVICE TO BURN SURVIVORS: Dr. McDonough has a unique perspective as a doctor and burn survivor himself. He says, “Somewhere early on in my recovery, I understood that who I am isn’t my outside appearance. It really isn’t and I know it sounds like a cliché, but who we are is what’s inside and not what we present outside.” He offers this advice to those who have endured a burn: “I tried early on to take something from my experience. My advice would be to try to project who you really want to be and be committed to giving something back to this big ball of dirt we all live on. In doing that, the light you project will be will be one, not of ugliness, but of beauty. I don’t know if I do that, but I pray that I do, and I ask God to give me strength to do that.”





For More Information, Contact:

Sarah Cepregi
615 Princeton St., Suite 540
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 896-4440