WATCHING in horror as the nurse carefully cut away the dressing on her leg, Ashley Carber felt her stomach roll in revulsion.
Three days earlier, the mum of two had suffered catastrophic third- and fourth-degree burns after a dream camping trip turned into a living nightmare. Now, her leg was a Frankenstein-style patchwork of dead skin – grafted from the bodies of THREE different corpses.
On the morning of the second day of their trip, Ashley (pictured with husband Junior) suffered a freak accidentCredit: True Life Stories
Ashley’s leg after undergoing the final skin graftCredit: True Life Stories
“Seeing all these dead people’s skin on my body, I felt sick to my stomach. It was deeply upsetting,” says Ashley, 41, from , .
It was the summer of 2020 when Ashley’s life changed forever.
Diagnosed with epilepsy aged seven, she suffered from regular seizures, until she had a vagus nerve stimulant implant fitted in 2020.
“The VNS was a device on my chest that sent electrical impulses to my brain. Combined with medication, it had finally eased my seizures for the first time in years,” she says.
To celebrate her 35th birthday three months later, she and her husband, Junior, now 40, a maintenance worker, their children, Trent, 16, Dejah, 13, and their dog, Freya, set off for Rock Creek State Park in, where they planned to spend three days camping with friends.
“The night before, I’d worked a gruelling 12-hour shift at the nursing home. I couldn’t wait to relax with my family and enjoy my birthday.
“Once we arrived at the campsite, we met our friends and their kids. We all set up our tents next to each other in the woodland.
“Junior started a bonfire, while the kids ran around with walkie talkies. By night time, we gathered around the fire and melted s’mores. It was wonderful.”
A nurse cut open my trousers and went silent – my leg had been cooked by the fire.
The next morning, at 5am, Ashley was the only one to wake up as the sun was rising. She threw some more wood onto the pit, and restarted the bonfire.
She says: “As the flames rose up, I grabbed a cafetière to make coffee. But suddenly, everything went black.”
Though she was unaware of it at the time, Ashley had suffered an epileptic fit – and fallen to the ground with her leg in the fire.
“I’d missed a few ,” Ashley says – the busyness leading up to the trip with work and the kids had meant she’d lost track.
“My seizures usually lasted two minutes, so during that entire time, my leg was on the flames.
“The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, a few metres away from the fire.
“I was groggy and confused, wondering how I’d got there. I dragged myself up and began trying to open the tent.
“But whenever I tried to get hold of the zip, it felt far away. I was lightheaded, and everything felt disconnected.
“I finally managed to get inside and collapsed onto the airbed. But I felt an excruciating pain in my leg. It was burning.
“I remembered this feeling and realised I’d had a seizure. I shook Junior awake.
“Junior pulled the covers off me and looked horrified. He said we had to get to the hospital right away.”
Junior carried Ashley into the car, whilst their friends looked after their kids.
He sped her to the nearest hospital, MercyOne North Iowa Medical Centre, a 15-minute drive away.
Ashley says: “A nurse cut open my trousers and went silent. To my horror, my leg had been cooked by the fire.”
The care home nurse had to her entire left leg. She also had nerve damage in her feet.
Ashley, now 41, pictured with husband Junior, 40, Trent, 16 and Dejah, 13, in 2017Credit: True Life Stories
She was transferred 170 miles away to a burn unit at the University of Iowa and rushed into emergency surgery.
Ashley says: “When I next woke up, it was three days later. I soon discovered after removing the dead skin off my leg, surgeons had given me a donor skin graft.
“Then when nurses changed my dressing, I saw not one, but three deceased people’s skin sewed onto my leg.
“One was Caucasian, one was African American, and one was Mexican. It looked like patchwork on my body and made me feel gross.”
The skin would have been taken recently from hospital patients who had died.
Initially, doctors had tried to use Ashley’s own skin, but the skin graft failed.
She ended up having eight skin graft surgeries over the coming weeks, including experimental procedures to try and help the wounds heal and skin regrow.
“I was on so many pain killers, everything was a blur,” says Ashley.
“Junior wasn’t allowed to be with me because of Covid-19 restrictions so he video-called me, telling me he loved me. But I could barely stay awake.”
In August that year, she was discharged from hospital after two months. Unable to walk, she had to go home in a wheelchair.
Ashley says: “I was miserable. But while I recovered, Junior was amazing with the kids, cooking and cleaning.
“My work waited for me to come back but after six months they had to let me go.
“I began to really struggle. Some days, during my wound dressings, even though I had morphine, it was torture.
“I even asked the doctor to cut off my leg one day. I was deflated and couldn’t handle the pain anymore.”
It took a year and a half before I could finally walk by myself again.
But, Ashley found her strength again. She went from a wheelchair to a walker, then to a cane and her scars also began to heal.
Ashley says: “I would look at family photos and see my old legs and miss them. But Junior would tell me I was beautiful.
“I made a website and it blossomed into my own start-up business. Now it has done so well that Junior has quit his job to help me.”
Her business sells unused medical equipment and supplies, after she was sent so many from the hospital.
“I refused to claim disability and let what happened ruin my life. Instead, I decided to reinvent myself,” she says.
“It took me a year-and-a-half to finally walk by myself. But I’m doing great now.”
Now, Ashley is raising awareness for not only burn survivors, but also epilepsy.
Ashley says: “If you suffer with seizures, please be careful around open flames.
Ashley suffered catastrophic burns to her leg.Credit: True Life Stories
“I never thought something like this would happen to me.
“Now, my birthdays are a constant reminder of the worst day of my life. But they’re also a reminder that I survived.
“Looking back, I remember missing my medication weeks before the camping trip.
“I hope this is a warning to other epileptics to never forget a dose, as I paid the price. Also be careful of being near open fires.”
Ashley is now raising awareness of epilepsy and burns victimsCredit: True Life Stories How to treat a burn
BURNS and scalds are damage to the skin usually caused by heat. Both are treated in the same way.
A burn is caused by dry heat – by an iron or fire, for example. A scald is caused by something wet, such as hot water or steam. Both are treated in the same way.
They can be very painful and may cause redness, peeling skin, swelling, white or charred skin.
To treat a burn, the person should be kept away from the heat source, their skin should be cooled, and any clothing or jewellery near the affected area should be removed.
The patient must also be kept warm, the burn wrapped in the cheap kitchen staple clingfilm, and painkillers can be given if needed.
In short, the NHS advises:
COOL
Let the area cool for 20 minutes under cool running water.
CALL
Dial 999, 111 or your GP for advice, depending on the severity of the wound.
COVER
Cover the burn loosely with clingfilm.
Source: NHS
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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