Sangha of Auspicious Companions

I Suffered Burns as a Child. Then I Became a Firefighter.

At six years old, Terry McCarthy’s body went up in flames when his brothers accidentally kicked over a bowl of kerosene. Burns covered 73% of his body. Recovery took a year across multiple hospitals, five-hour bandage changes, skin so thin that bending would crack it open. As a young adult, scarred and struggling, he was told outright by a manager: “I can’t hire you.” So at 25, tired of being treated like a victim, he did something startling — he joined his local volunteer fire academy. Two weeks in, standing in a burning room, he froze with flashbacks. Then the flames rolled less than a foot above his head, and something shifted. “For the first time, I knew I was in control.” He turned on the hose. Years later, he works helping others recover from trauma, searching still for the stranger who tackled him to the ground that day and saved his life.

Be The Change

Think of something in your life that once hurt you deeply. Today, consider one small way that wound has given you unexpected strength, compassion, or clarity you wouldn’t otherwise have.