Hundreds of burn survivors from around the country are expected to attend the Phoenix Society's World Burn Congress, which kicks off Wednesday in Cincinnati.
Sharon Everett, a 62-year-old burn survivor, was there early to lead sensitivity training for employees at the Hyatt Regency ahead of the conference hosted by the Shriners Hospital for Children, according to The Enquirer.
It was the summer of 2000 and Everett was pulling into her driveway after returning from the store. A bag containing chemicals for her pool apparently leaked and mixed with other grocery products, suddenly engulfing the car in flames.
Her husband, George, recalled the scene.
"I've seen people hit with napalm," the Army veteran told the newspaper. "And that's what I saw (with Sharon). I thought I lost her. I thought she was gone."
Fort Thomas, Ky. firefighters pulled her from the car. She sustained third-degree burns to close to 60 percent of her body.
The former AT&T project manager remembers nothing from the fire and laid in a drug-induced coma for five months as her skin grafts took.
After seven months in two hospitals, she returned home, requiring ongoing care from her husband and five children. She had to relearn simple tasks, including how to feed herself.
"It's kind of like I had to live up to their expectations," she told the newspaper. "It was the strength in them that helped me do it."
When her family found about the Phoenix Society, they decided to attend the Burn Congress in 2001 in Grand Rapids, Mich.
"I was anxious about going because I didn't know what to expect. I was also excited about going. I knew we would learn something," Everett said. "It was amazing to see people and what they had accomplished, and to see them having a good time. Laughing. Dancing."
She hasn't missed a conference since, traveling to Vancouver, Sacramento, Phoenix, New York and other cities.
