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Wendy and Mike Taylor, SOAR, Eskenazi Health
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can find Wendy and Mike Taylor at the Richard M. Fairbanks Burn Center at Eskenazi Health, meeting with burn patients and their families as part of a program called SOAR (Survivors Offering Assistance in Recovery). There, Wendy said, for about four hours each visit, they talk to patients about what they can expect regarding billing, surgeries and therapy, and they answer heart-wrenching questions like: Why did I survive? Will anybody love me? How will my children react to seeing me?
It’s emotionally draining work, but Wendy, 67, and Mike, 68, say it’s especially meaningful to them. In 2021, they were the first patients in the burn unit after fire destroyed their south-side home. The fire damaged Wendy’s lungs and vocal cords, burned 34% of her body and forced her to retire from her job at OneAmerica Financial. She was in the hospital for 60 days of rehab and had to return for therapy, wound checks and surgeries. Her husband, Mike, was less severely burned, but he experienced survivor’s guilt for not finding her in the fire.
Peer support is important to burn patients, said Dr. Leigh Spira, a burn and reconstructive plastic surgeon with Indiana University Health. The injuries are complex, often involving skin grafts, reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries, and extensive physical therapy. Recovery can take years. Patients may experience sadness, fear and anxiety as well as emotions they often hesitate to share with their families.
“As a burn surgeon, I do my best to explain as much as I can regarding their medical care, surgical plans and what to expect along the way based on my experience and training,” Spira said. “But volunteers who are burn survivors themselves have a personal insight that allows them to connect with patients on a different level. They enable patients to express their difficult emotions, ask tough questions and begin to regain hope.”
Wendy said she deals with survivors experiencing all kinds of grief. Some are angry. “I understand that because I had periods of that in the hospital where I thought about how I’m never going to be the same. So I’m willing to sit there or talk to them about their feelings.”
“It’s been a very good experience,” Mike added. “Even sometimes when you see the survivors, it can be overwhelming, but it’s a positive feeling.”
Wendy said sometimes it takes time for patients to open up. When she and Mike first started volunteering, they had a patient who was severely injured and didn’t want to talk.
“Every time I was there, I’d just poke my head in, say ‘hi,’” Wendy said. “Eventually, I went in a little bit further, and eventually she was talking to me about things that she never talked about with anybody.
“I always [want to] give hope to one person to see that it is a journey, but there is light at the end of the tunnel,” she added. “You’ll be up and moving and going home someday, and recovery is there for you.”•
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