Former KU Hospital Burn Patient "Gives Back" to Current Patients

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Jill Chadwick

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Office: (913) 588-5013

Cell: (913) 223-3974

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jchadwick@kumc.edu

            Olga Villarreal is lucky to be alive. Six years ago, she suffered burns over 40 percent of her body in a house fire, and spent months recovering in the Burnett Burn Unit at The University of Kansas Hospital.

            Now that she’s recovered, she spends a lot of her time with a burn survivor group visiting new burn patients in the hospital. In the video, Olga describes what the fire was like, what she remembers about the experience, the months of painful treatment and procedures, the importance of support, why she’s giving back now, and why she loves her life more now than before she was burned.