Tag: Gratitude

My Race continues…
Encouragement · healing-over-pain · Hope

My Race continues…

dawnhirnLeave a comment

At 16-years-old, I had hiked out to a very remote beach on Vancouver Island with six of my friends including my brother.

campfire

We got very drunk.

I decided to stay awake and drink the leftovers by the beach fire until I fell into an alcohol-fueled sleep.

I woke to searing pain down my left arm.

I felt my face, which was smooth as plastic, and my eyelids were burned shut. Somehow I’d rolled into the fire and woke up with 14% full-thickness burns mainly to my face and along my left arm.

I tried to make enough noise to wake the others, but I think I was the only one who could hear me.

I couldn’t see anything with my eyelids burned shut.

I finally pried my left eyelid open a fraction with both hands. Now I knew the general direction of the other guys.

fire

My brother Rob heard my crying and climbed out of his tent.

When he saw me–my blackened face and the extensive body damage caused by the fire–he lost it.

Two friends stayed with me, while the two guys ran 4 miles for help.

Several hours after my accident a small helicopter arrived!

The flight team strapped me onto a stretcher that was attached to the bottom of the small helicopter that buzzed me back to Bamfield Hospital. 

I had lost the use of my right eye and I needed a new nose, and God knows what else. I had endless variations of donor sites.

It was amazing how much skin you go through!

I was discharged from the burn unit after 115 days and nights.

Joe-Schuckel-2Slowly but surely I got stronger, but I had a long way to go.

I went under for many more surgeries (14+) over the next three years.

I wore a plastic mask for quite some time. I got my new nose, and I got titanium implants for a prosthetic eye and ear and wore “pressure garments” for years. 

While going through the endless surgeries I started running to get stronger.

I ran the Times Colonist 10k against my doctor’s advice with 6000 other folks.BS-Joe Schuckel1

I was hooked! A marathon came next. 

Currently, I have run 15 marathons.

I married my girlfriend Jane, and we have a six-acre farm in scenic Cobble Hill, BC. with horses that Jane manages, plus chickens and pigs.

Our “Bed and Breakfast” Hillcrest Farm is busy in the summer and we both love to welcome guests to these wonderful surroundings.

 And as a professional chef, I currently work full time as a cook in Victoria at a Complex Care facility.

My race continues to include mountain biking, marathons and connection with the burn community to offer support when needed.

BS-Joe Schuckel 3
Hillcrest Farm Bed & Breakfast

 

That’s my story of a happy boy and a strong man.

dawn

BTW-(If this is something that you would like to support, please visit us at www.ryanshines.com or follow us on FB and IG @ryanshinesburnfoundation)

Adventure with Engagement AWE · healing-over-pain · Hope · wounded healer

Every ending is a new beginning

dawnhirn3 Comments

( First, I’ve gotta tell you that I’m finding so much joy in my Journey with you).

2020

However we have failed ourselves and those we care about; wherever our fears have knocked us to our knees; whatever searing loss has tempted us to give up on our dreams, our story doesn’t end there! 

It’s time to leave 2019 and move into the New Year.

It’s time to leave what’s past and embrace what’s possible.open door

Every ending brings a new beginning. 

As we are making our way into our new beginning, we are constructing a world where people make room for each other, provide for each other, and take care of each other.

A world where people refuse to judge a child by her scars.

This is our 20/20 vision at Ryan Shines, even if that’s not the world we live in.

We live in a world where terrible things happen, and not just to other people.

We have had our share of tragic accidents, and dreaded diagnoses.

The question is: “how will we respond when these things happen to us?”

By facing what’s terrible in our lives and our world, we create the possibility that something beautiful will emerge in its wake.

IMG_2298 2
Catching Courage Keys Edition

What’s terrible doesn’t have the final word.

As long as we are alive, something always happens next. And if we work for it, ‘the something that happens next’ can be beautiful.

Why don’t you join us?

horizon

It’s never too late to embrace our Vision.

dawn

BTW-(If this is something that you would like to support, please visit us at www.ryanshines.com or follow us on FB and IG @ryanshinesburnfoundation)

Rising from the ashes
Encouragement · Faith · healing-over-pain · wounded healer

Rising from the ashes

dawnhirnLeave a comment

“My name is Lisa Beckwith. I was burned On November 9, 2017.

bs-lisa4
Lisa

It was a beautiful fall evening and my family and I were outside enjoying a nice fire in our fire pit.

After a while, my husband and teenage daughter and son went in for the night.

I loved the quiet privacy.

When I decided to turn-in for the night, I stood up out of my chair and stepped on the left corner of my robe and fell into the fire pit.

My chin hit the steel ring and my hands broke my fall in the hot coals.

With unexpected strength, I pushed myself out of the pit.

I ran to the bathroom, splashed cold water over my face and grabbed a towel.

I honestly didn’t think that I had been badly burned. When I looked in the mirror, I was horrified.

bs-lisa6

My son and daughter heard the commotion and ran into the bathroom to see what was going on.

They were horrified, too, seeing skin hanging from my face and hands.

They called my husband, who was already asleep.

He came running and, in minutes, had me bandaged and on our way to the hospital.

Upon arriving, the hospital determined I needed to be at a facility that was highly skilled at treating burn victims.

So I was admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and into the Burn Center.

 

I was burned badly on the right side of my face and both hands.bs-lisa 2

A good amount of hair was burned as well.

Ironically, the robe I was wearing that night ended-up saving the rest of my body.

They skin-grafted both hands.

Then, in a few months, I had a second graft surgery on my left hand.

I have some limitations to what I can do with my hands.

I always will, but I am grateful the limitations are minimal.

My scars are deep, but wearing compression gloves helps me do everyday tasks.

Overall, my healing was miraculous.

bs-lisa 3

What I didn’t expect was the strength it takes to heal emotionally.

But I have a strong faith and that’s the main reason why I’m making such progress in my healing process.

I certainly have my share of bad days.

I allow myself to have them, but I refuse to focus on them.

I encourage people to find the good that is in everything. 

And, trust me, I mean EVERYTHING.”

dawn

Celebrating Thanksgiving
Adventure with Engagement AWE · Family · Relationship

Celebrating Thanksgiving

dawnhirnLeave a comment

As I look back over the past year, I am thankful for the joy that has unexpectedly found me in growing RyanShines (our pediatric burn survivors and firefighters foundation).

Screen Shot 2019-08-12 at 9.10.38 AM
Catching Courage Salt 2019

It was like a bounty of unlooked-for treasures.

I like to call it “A Year of Heroes with a Thousand Faces!”

Group Montg.
Montgomery Fire Dptmt & Ryan Shines

What’s made the year different for me is that I have found a way through the sizable barrier separating me and firefighters.

I mean, who understands firefighters except firefighters?

IMG_7653.jpeg
Some favorite firefighters at RSA tower stair climb

But that was not what I was trying to do.

I was working hard to build “trust” between us so that RyanShines could make a positive difference in their lives.

This was my hope, and I’m seeing it grow at little and large fire stations. 

 

I am thankful for their generous open-heartedness, and their willingness to live in a world of death and life to rescue others.

I am thankful that every day and night they risk their lives for strangers. 

Bottom line…I am Thankful.

I am thankful for our pediatric burn survivors.

brantson
Brantson, Cory and James   Catching Courage Salt ’19

I am thankful for the bond that we have forged.

Kaleigh:lovely:dawn
Lovely, Kaleigh and me

I am inspired by their raw courage, the way they carry themselves, and the way they let us carry them.

Kaleigh-dress

 

Finally, I am thankful for you, dear readers, for the ways that you encourage us and keep us warm in your prayers.

IMG_0185
Lovely @catchingcourage salt ’19

Thank you for keeping us focused on our mission that  “no pediatric burn survivor be left behind and no firefighter be forgotten.”

fullsizeoutput_526b
Catching Courage Salt ’19 kids

with love and gratitude,

dawn