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I used to work in a fertilizer factory. At 12:30 a.m. on August 13, 1997 a piece of poorly built equipment failed and I was showered with Sulfuric Acid. Luckily I was wearing a hard hat and a full face respirator and gloves.
I had to run about 500 feet to get into the shower. Nobody saw this happen to me and my screams for help went unheard. After about 20 minutes in the shower I realized I would have to call 911 myself. I ran into the break room,
butt naked, and called. Then I had to run back out into the plant, butt naked, and find someone so they could tell the paramedics where I was.
I spent 3 weeks in the burn ward at St. Elizabeths in Lincoln, Nebraska. There I underwent some of the most painful procedures. The daily scrubbings of the dead skin.
The complete scraping of my back with a metal scraper with the aid of only laughing gas (it was no laughing matter). More IV's then I care to count, along with a few catheters.
Not to mention the 3 skin graft surgeries. They took skin from my thighs, butt, neck and head and put it on my back, left arm, shoulder, neck and ear. Along with my right shoulder.
A couple of months later I had to go back to St. Elizabeths for deep scar removal and to replace a piece of skin that had torn off during Physical Therapy. The two words you
don't want to hear during Physical Therapy are "uh oh". Five months later I had to go back again for two days to regraft my neck. The scarring was bad and the new graft worked
much better. I have been wearing a Jobst garment (that is what you see in the picture) that goes from my neck to my knees for 1 year and 9 months. As of the end of May I no longer have
to wear it. I have also been wearing a neck brace since May 1998 which I no longer have to wear. The purpose behind these are to keep tight pressure
on the burned areas and the donor sites and to keep them from scarring up. This has been a horrendous ordeal for me. Luckily I have family and friends that helped support me
through this.
UPDATE: On April 12, 1999 my employer, Tetra Micronutrient fired me. Their reason? I was no longer able to work in the plant so they had no job for me so I was not needed.
They fired me because the injury they caused me prevented me from working in the plant. And this injury prevents me from working at most other places. What a bunch of heartless,
spineless bastards.
