Living With 70% Burns After I Survived A House Fire | BORN DIFFERENT - video Dailymotion

Truly

SERGIO does not remember life without the burns that cover roughly 70% of his body. When he was just two years old, he and his younger brother, Daniel, ran out to the garage and pulled a gallon of gasoline off the top shelf. Sergio explained to Truly what happened next: "The gasoline ran all the way to the water heater and that ignited the fire." The two boys were soon engulfed in flames and when their parents "heard the screaming", they ran out of the house to face the horrifying scene. The boys' mum quickly grabbed Daniel while their dad, Marcelo, had to reach deeper into the fire to pull Sergio to safety. Sergio is under no illusions as to how much danger he was in: "I do believe my dad saved my life." However, serious damage had already been done - Sergio was immediately taken to hospital, where he "fell into a coma from the shock". On arrival at the hospital, his parents were warned to "be ready in case I were to pass away" and Marcelo was "fighting with the doctors to do something but they couldn't do anything." Sergio eventually stabilised and, after months in hospital and numerous skin grafts, he was finally able to return home. He was, however, left blind in one eye and his childhood would be spent "in and out of hospital". As Sergio grew the scars did not stretch with his skin, so surgeries and skin grafts have been a regular feature of his life - he now estimates that he has had "over 150/160 surgeries" in total. It is likely that Sergio will "never" stop, as he explained to his dad that "every time I go to the hospital and get a new surgery, I just see it as me improving my health a little bit more". Sergio has built up a huge following on TikTok, where he seeks to "educate people on different aspects of being a burns survivor and to make people laugh as well". His public platform does attract trolls but he is defiant in his response to their comments: "It doesn't bother me... I don't even remove them because then that means I'm paying attention". And, as Marcelo attests to, Sergio's determination not to let anything get him down has had a lasting impact on those around him: "I'm proud of him... I can't have another son like him."  Follow Sergio on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@serjreyna Follow Sergio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serjreyna Follow Sergio on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@serjreyna

Transcript

00:00 When I was two years old, me and my little brother,

00:02 we decided to go and pick up the gallon of gasoline.

00:05 It just fell down to the ground,

00:06 and the gasoline ignited the fire.

00:09 When I see him, he is screaming,

00:10 and he got his hands extended like he want reach me.

00:14 Everything happened right away.

00:16 70% of my body was burned.

00:18 I fell into a coma from the shock.

00:20 The doctors were already telling my parents to be ready

00:24 in case I were to pass away.

00:26 You can go to sleep, you know, and change your life.

00:30 So the skin on my face, I normally just wash it with water.

00:35 I don't do too much to it.

00:37 I'm probably supposed to be wearing sunscreen, but I don't.

00:39 And I just make sure it's nice and clean.

00:41 On the nose, I do massage it every now and then.

00:43 Since my last memory of me not being burnt doesn't exist,

00:48 this is my normal.

00:50 So I felt normal.

00:52 It never really hit me too much

00:55 how different I was from other people until later.

00:58 So growing up, a lot of other kids were very curious

01:02 as to how I got my scars.

01:03 But for the most part, after their curiosity was quenched,

01:07 they didn't really bring it up too much,

01:09 and we just became friends most of the time.

01:12 The thing that bothers me the most is the stairs,

01:14 'cause I do look completely different from everybody else.

01:17 So that is a little annoying.

01:19 - Everybody there?

01:21 - Hello, welcome in.

01:23 - How you doing?

01:24 (laughing)

01:26 - How are you?

01:28 - You okay?

01:29 - Yeah, I'm good.

01:29 I was two years old when the fire happened.

01:32 I was gonna help my dad cut the grass.

01:34 Me and my little brother, we decided to go into the garage

01:37 and pick up the gallon of gasoline,

01:39 which was on a top shelf.

01:40 It just fell down to the ground and it spilled.

01:43 Gasoline ran all the way towards the water heater,

01:47 and that ignited the fire.

01:48 My brother Daniel was in the fire too.

01:52 My mom immediately ran outside when she heard the screaming

01:55 and pulled him out, and my dad came out the shower

01:59 and pulled me out of the fire.

02:00 I do believe my dad saved my life.

02:02 - Everything happens right away, you know?

02:06 It's screaming.

02:07 When I see him, he got his hands extended

02:12 like he wanna reach me,

02:15 and I was grab him from his shoulders

02:21 and pull out the fire.

02:23 - You suffered some burns as well, right?

02:26 - Yeah, I get burned my hands a little bit,

02:29 but my wife, the same thing.

02:32 She burns her hands and her arm.

02:35 It's bad when that happens, you know?

02:38 It's not dying, it's faster.

02:40 I think my prognosis when I got into the hospital

02:42 was severe burns through around 60% of my body.

02:47 The doctors were worried about my recovery.

02:49 Some of them were already telling my parents to be ready

02:53 in case I were to pass away.

02:55 My dad was extremely stressed out about the situation.

02:59 He somewhat blames himself,

03:00 even though he didn't really do anything to cause it.

03:04 He said that he was fighting with the doctors

03:07 to do something, but they couldn't do anything.

03:09 - You can go to sleep, you know, and change your life.

03:13 My wife too, my wife, she changed her life.

03:15 You know, I was suffering a lot, I cries a lot,

03:18 but we don't cry in front of him.

03:20 Everything he needs, we give it to him.

03:23 - So I think the main two lasting symptoms

03:26 that I have from the accident

03:27 is that I lost sight on my right eye,

03:30 and the other one is that the scars don't grow.

03:33 I've basically been in and out of the hospital

03:37 throughout my entire childhood, teenage years.

03:39 I believe that on my face,

03:40 I've gone in around 15 to 20 surgeries,

03:43 and in total, on my whole body,

03:46 I've probably had over 150, 160 surgeries.

03:50 This is like five skin grafts,

03:51 just to make sure the arm can stay extended.

03:54 You know, I used to have a band right here,

03:56 contraction, but it's almost gone now.

03:59 They did a forehead flat

04:00 where they cut my forehead up into my scalp

04:03 and flipped the skin over to my nose

04:05 so that I could have a nice, healthy chunk of skin

04:07 on that area.

04:09 They also did on my hips

04:11 and the side of both my legs

04:13 on the contractions I have there.

04:15 So they've been doing a lot of work on you.

04:16 Yeah.

04:17 I know you and mom did not want me to continue surgeries.

04:20 So that's my question.

04:21 When you gonna stop doing this?

04:23 Never.

04:24 I was thinking you don't wanna be a sufferer anymore.

04:26 Well, I don't see surgeries as suffering

04:28 like other people do.

04:29 Since I was little,

04:31 every time I go to the hospital and get a new surgery,

04:34 I just see it as me improving my health a little bit more.

04:36 Whatever you decide,

04:38 I'm gonna be with you.

04:41 Your decision is correct.

04:43 Are you happy?

04:45 It doesn't matter anything.

04:47 I do wish that I didn't have a visible difference

04:50 mainly because it does cause health issues.

04:52 And obviously I'd rather,

04:54 instead of being in the hospital all the time,

04:56 be doing a few other things.

04:57 The scars themselves, the way they look,

05:00 it's fine to me.

05:01 Kind of like the Frankenstein look that I have on my arm.

05:03 So I plan on getting a few more skin grafts, add to that.

05:06 It's now a different day.

05:09 And now that I'm healed up,

05:11 we can proceed with the actual contents of the video.

05:15 I started creating TikTok content in spring of 2021.

05:20 I've had so many surgeries in my last 22 years

05:25 that the hand that has been used for all the IVs

05:29 is now scarred and it can't be used for IVs anymore.

05:33 That's me directing myself from the idea I had.

05:36 I think it's just a creative outlet for me

05:38 to educate people on different aspects

05:41 of being a burn survivor.

05:43 And then, you know, to make people laugh as well.

05:45 'Cause that's the vast majority of my videos.

05:47 We just reached 100,000 followers.

05:51 Thank you, all you filthy degenerates.

05:53 Three positive characteristics that can help you

05:56 overcome any challenges that you may face.

05:58 Whether it's a house fire, a depression,

06:00 or stomping yourself at the corner of your bed.

06:02 The response from the viewers of my TikTok

06:06 has been always showing support.

06:08 Every now and then there's a troll,

06:09 but that's like normal for anything online.

06:12 So it doesn't bother me.

06:13 I do notice that normally the other supporters

06:16 that I have on social media end up going after those people.

06:18 So I don't have to do anything.

06:20 I don't even remove them

06:21 'cause then that means I'm paying attention.

06:23 The positive responses always make me feel

06:25 a bit more normal in this world where I'm not normal.

06:29 It's always really nice to read.

06:31 (upbeat music)

06:33 - Hey Sergio.

06:36 - How's it going, man?

06:37 - What's up?

06:37 - Hey, man.

06:38 - How's it going?

06:39 - It's going good.

06:40 - Nice, good to see you, dude.

06:41 - I actually met Sergio at the movies

06:44 because they work together.

06:46 But Sergio told me right away, he told me his story

06:50 and we instantly kind of connected and bonded

06:52 and felt like each other were just safe and cool people.

06:55 - We met virtually first and when we met in person,

06:58 it was just like, we had been old friends for a while.

07:01 - When he told me he had a TikTok,

07:02 I thought that was super cool.

07:03 He doesn't let, you know,

07:05 any visual scarring or anything impair his life.

07:08 - Yeah, the way Sergio deals with his condition

07:11 is so optimistic and it just like inspires me

07:15 to like do better in my own life.

07:17 I mean, he's just like a glass half full kind of guy.

07:21 So I love that about him.

07:23 - I hope people take away from my story,

07:26 the motivation and the power to be able to move on

07:29 and do greater things.

07:31 Never let any little thing stop you.

07:34 Never let any little or big thing hold you down.

07:37 You have your whole life ahead of you

07:39 and you could always accomplish so much,

07:41 even with there being some downsides along the way.

07:44 - I'm proud of him.

07:45 He's very good.

07:46 I can't have another son like him.

07:48 (upbeat music)

07:51 (upbeat music)

07:53 (upbeat music)

07:56 (upbeat music)

07:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Living With 70% Burns After I Survived A House Fire | BORN DIFFERENT

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