The third-degree burns that he sustained to 70% of his body during a caravan fire left a man speechless. He said it changed his life.
Reece Chesterman (aged 30), was homeless. Before the fire, he had been begging and using drugs.
He had to have multiple surgeries in order to recover his vision and the majority of the skin from his back.
Reece said he could not be happier as it was the beginning of his adulthood. He has gotten clean and found a woman to love him.
Reece Chesterfield (age 30, of Yeovil in Somerset) reconnected after moving back to Somerset with Charley. Reece Chesterfield and Charley, his partner on a recent day-out photo
Reece’s 3rd degree burns, including his eyelids which were so damaged in the blaze that he couldn’t close his eyes.
Aftermath of the caravan fire. Reece still has no idea what started the caravan fire, and there have not been any charges.
The man is sure that, if the fire hadn’t sparked on March 9, 2019, he would still be alive.
Reece stated, “It may seem strange to say it but it was most likely the best thing that happened to me because I’ve turned my life around for the better.”
Now he is sober, he lives with Charley and says that she has lifted him up in ways he never thought possible.
Reece does not recall the incident, however witnesses claimed that they heard Reece groaning as the fire raged.
Reece loves to take his girlfriend to the beach. However, Reece must apply factor 50 sunscreen to his skin and then sit under the shade. Recent photo
Reece was feared to have died so the fire brigade took 20 minutes to hose him down at Bristol’s blaze. Photographed: Reece’s burns at the hospital
Reece sustained burns to 70% of his body. The bandage adjustments were unbearably painless, according to Reece.
The skin of his back was so severe that he could not move as he was being pulled.
Reece was feared to have died so the fire brigade took 20 minutes to wash his body.
Reece only remembers vivid dreams in which nurses stole his gold, and being woken up periodically at the intensive burns unit by estranged relatives.
He recalled that he could see the distress in their faces because of how upset they were.
Reece was left with third-degree burns. He admitted it was difficult to adjust to the new look.
Reece’s caravan following the fire. He was still asleep when the flames engulfed his home and his caravan.
Reece was treated at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, Swansea for four months. He also underwent skin grafts and other surgeries. Here he is as it looks now
“I should not have survived.” Doctors called me a miracle.
Reece spent 4 months in Swansea’s Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, where he underwent surgery and skin grafts. But, Reece claims that the most painful experience was bandage changing.
He said that the “Bandage Change” was the worst thing he’d ever experienced in his life.
“It was anguish. They were constantly peeling my skin.
Reece’s caravan following the fire. Witnesses claimed that Reece’s caravan was ablaze after he groaned. A passerby saw the scene and pulled down the door to drag him out.
Reece before the blaze. He is convinced if the fire hadn’t taken hold that day in March 2019, he would be dead by now
Reece, who is now bald due to third-degree burns, has accepted the fact that he will need surgery to rebuild his eyebrows.
Reece was required to change his bandages every day. Reece begged his nurses to make it happen during surgery to avoid the trauma.
The fire had caused his eyelids to melt, so he was unable to see properly. He needed to close his eyes and roll them to the back to go to bed.
Because of this, his vision has been permanently impaired.
Reece’s skin was taken from the neck and doctors made new eyelids.
Reece admitted that his first glance in the mirror following the fire was an overwhelming shock, but he tried not to dwell on the fact that it was good to be alive.
Reece and a friend, when he was homeless. Charley was his girlfriend at the time. She used to send him money as he lived rough on the streets.
Reece described the feeling of being ripped from his body by his hospital visits. Left: Reece’s scalp, after the fire.
Long-term consequences of the burns include difficulty walking and scarring that turns purple due to poor vision.
Reece, a 21-year-old friend, returned home to his hometown to reunite with Charley. Charley was his best friend, who would often check in on Reece to give him money and keep him safe when he was struggling.
Reece and Charley have been inseparable since December 2012, as their 2-year anniversary is near.
“I don’t think I will ever have a girlfriend because I am so burned out,” he stated.
After being burnt, Reece believed no one would ever love him until he met his current girlfriend. Reece’s 3rd degree burns after being in the hospital
“But she treated me as if I were completely normal, and that was because she loved me. She loved my scars and didn’t care about them.
‘She’s made me feel normal. Although I was anxious to venture out, she helped me feel confident and allowed me to return home.
“Now, we are capable of doing anything. I don’t care what people think.”
Reece and the couple enjoy going to the beach together, however Reece must apply factor 50 sunscreen to his skin before he can sit down in the shade.
Reece explained that he now accepts being bald because he lost his hair in the fire, but is having new eyebrows made through a burns charity.
It was investigated, but there was no cause and no one was ever arrested.