According to Sons Of The Flag advocate Louise Griffeth,
“When ‘Sons of the Flag’ was founded more than 13 years ago, the sentiment shared by many was the stigma attached to those veterans, first responders and children who had suffered a severe burn injury was a permanent scar. Those days are over.
Louise Griffeth (File photo)
“Today, Sons of the Flag is changing that, through funding Burn Fellowships at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The overarching goal is to significantly increase the number of accredited burn surgeons focused on burn patient care and crucial research, because there are simply not enough.
“Our first responders here at home are on the front-line every single day fighting for us and we recognized that firefighters, in particular, are going to unfortunately be the greatest recipients of our Sons of the Flag burn care mission to improve their quality of life.
“This foresight could not have been more apparent in 2021. The burn fellow Sons of the Flag supported at UT Southwestern in 2019 – 2020, Dr. Audra Clark, became a Burn Surgeon and we could not have been prouder. I have recounted her experience many times and I think it is worth repeating.
“On her very first day as an accredited attending Burn Surgeon, there was a huge building explosion in Dallas, where three firefighters were severely injured and immediately taken to Parkland Hospital. Dr. Clark took care of each of the firefighters and saved their lives.
Sons Of The Flag (File graphic)
“One firefighter in particular, Fire Captain Chris Gadomski was given a zero percent chance to live. Captain Gadomski, dubbed by Parkland as ‘Captain Indestructible’ was not only saved by Dr. Clark, but he is also back on the job as a Fire Captain. His passion and dedication resonated with so many!
“Sons of the Flag has so many stories with a happy ending, and it is because of their dedication to burn survivors, as well as generous individuals, corporate donors, and grant opportunities, each recognizing the importance of these programs to enhance burn care and take care of those who take care of us.
“Each person moved to donate by reading this article will be designated to fund our next Burn Fellow at UT Southwestern where these burn surgeons to not only save lives but enhance them!
“No donation is too small or too large to save lives, and the life you save could be someone you know. My wish, along with the victims, families and caregivers, is that you would consider supporting Sons of the Flag this holiday season. My wish is that you visit sonsoftheflag.org to learn more and lend your support.”
