She suffered burns on 30 percent of your body and recently went through a painful skin grafting energy.
A mother suffered serious burns on 30 percent of her body, nearly a month ago. She is currently recovering and hopes that she will be able to walk her son down the aisle next spring. Tami Chmielewski is a single mother of four, who is looking at life from a fresh perspective after a painful skin-grafting surgery to repair her wounds, reports PEOPLE. She has announced a race between herself and her one-year-old granddaughter to determine who can walk first. She has declared a race between herself and her one-year-old granddaughter to determine who can walk first.
Brooklyn Hardwick, a registered nurse Tami's daughter and mother to the one-year-old is sending daily progress videos of the child to her grandmother. She said that it, "just keeps reminding my mom of why she's still fighting and what she has to live for." She added, "We've been really trying to stay positive and lean on God and our faith and know there is a plan and there will be something good that comes from it all, and he's got us and he's got her, and he's watching over all of us."
"My mom remains optimistic and eager to continue getting stronger and back on her feet."
Tami was on vacation in Minnesota for a close friend's son's wedding when the accident happened. During a nighttime bonfire, flames caught up to her dress and she suffered burns on 30 percent of her body. Hardwick explained, "We don't quite know what happened, I just know that the fire got larger. She stopped, dropped, and rolled, and the fire wasn't going out. So one selfless human got on top of her. They risked catching themselves on fire to help."
Tami's clothes were removed to put out the fire but she already had suffered severe burns on her torso and legs. She went through a skin grafting surgery on September 8 and her condition has improved from serious to satisfactory. Doctors warned Tami's family that she would need at least six months of physical therapy to recover. On Monday, 11 days after the grafting operation, she took her first positive step with a therapist by sitting up on the side of her bed, according to Hardwick.
The family first began a GoFundMe effort to raise funds for a medical trip to return Tami to Arizona, where she lives with her adolescent son and Hardwick's sister.
Hardwick was able to meet her mother earlier this month. She said, "She hasn't seen herself and she was really worried about us seeing her, of course."
"She's a completely independent, motivated, selfless human being. She is the glue not only to our family but all the people in her life. If anybody is going through something, Tami is the one they go to. She brings them back down to earth, and she makes sure to ground them and also comfort and support them," she added.
Tami missed her granddaughter's first birthday as well as her son's 15th birthday. She is however encouraged by the fact that one of her doctors is a burn survivor with noticeable grafting scars. Her daughter said, "The doctors and nurses and the physical therapists, everyone has been amazing."
References
Cover Image Source: Tami Chmielewski | Facebook
