A WOMAN who suffered third-degree burns to 90 percent of her body as a baby has had over 100 surgeries, has revealed that she is set to have her final operation this year.
Denise Lehane, 30 fell into a BONFIRE on her family farm in County Cork when she was just nine months old.
She had burns over 90 percent of her body. For months, she suffered in intensive care. Her physicians eventually saved her, but it was immediately clear that she wouldn't have a completely normal life.
The treatment requires numerous surgeries, and young patients often see limited benefit, since their bodies are still growing. Nevertheless, when she was only 8, Denise started down the long road towards recovery.
In fact, she has had more than 100 surgeries over the past three decades. In total, this cost over $1 million. While Denise is from Ireland, the treatments were performed in the United States, with most costs covered by the Physically Challenged Irish American Youth Team.
She notes that because she grew up with the surgeries, she's never thought of them as abnormal. Still, she's thankful that she won't have to undergo any more operations.
She almost faced unthinkable hardship when the organization that funded her surgeries closed...right before her final round of operations.
"They had invested a lot of time and money in me, but it wasn't possible to continue," she told the Daily Mail.
Denise notes that she was never bullied at school, but as an adult, she's dealt with people calling her cruel names. Still, she's a confident woman, and she says that she's never had trouble finding boyfriends.
"You get used to having surgery when you have so much of it and it was worth it, because my face has drastically changed," she said. "If I hadn't done anything, I would be in a completely different position now."
