Born To Run (Touchdown Edition)

Chapter 1: The Burn Pit

Brittany Young is as unique as the Hawaiian Islands that she calls home. Brittany is a fun-loving, sixteen-year-old girl growing up on the beautiful island of Maui, which is the seventh of the eight major Hawaiian islands. Although Maui is small enough to drive around in less than a day, there are more than 100,000 residents and Brittany considers herself lucky to be one of them.

This lively teenager enjoys all the special things that Maui has to offer. She loves to surf, snorkel, paddle, and barbeque at the beach and to enjoy world-famous sunsets with her family and friends. Brittany's college plans will likely take her to the continental United States, 2,500 miles from her island home, but the spirit of the islands will always be with her.

When you meet Brittany, you are instantly greeted with a cheerful, easy smile that makes you think her life is as carefree as the tropical birds that sing her awake each morning. But Brittany's life has been anything but carefree. When Brittany was only seven years old, her world was shattered, and her life changed forever. . .

The date was May 24, 1997. It seemed like a normal spring day. Seven-year-old Brittany was returning from a birthday party. As the Young family car turned the corner onto Cooke Road, Brittany and her brother Jake made their usual request. They begged their mom to let them out of the car so they could walk the rest of the way home. The Youngs lived along a mile-long dusty road, dotted with houses, each hidden behind a mask of eucalyptus trees.

Mrs. Young pulled over, and Jake was out of the car in an instant. Brittany, as usual, was flying right behind him. Jake was nine years old, eighteen months older than his sister. The two seemed attached at the hip.

When Mrs. Young called out to Brittany, reminding her to put her shoes on, Brittany resisted. "Jake doesn't have shoes on," she said.

Before Mrs. Young could argue, the two children were off and running up the road barefoot. Their laughter bounced off the trees as they passed an old protea farm. In its day, this particular farm was beautiful--it looked like a glorious burst of fireworks! Protea are one of the world's most unusual flowers. Native to South Africa, they grow especially well in the Kula area of Upcountry Maui. Kula, where Brittany lived, is a residential area sitting on the side of Haleakala, which is a dormant volcano.

Jake stopped when they reached the old farm and so did Brittany. The owner had let most of the flowers die off a while ago. He had neglected many things on his land. In fact, a grand old eucalyptus tree used to stand on the edge of his property. The awesome tree towered over the road. It had been removed a few years earlier, but the giant stump had stubbornly remained. The owner did not want to pay to have the stump taken out, so he decided to burn it. He burned cuttings and trash in the center of the stump--turning it into a dangerous fire pit.

When the stump finally sank into the earth, it left behind a crater fourteen feet across and more than five feet deep. Jake stared at the hole where the stump had once sat bravely grasping the ground with its massive roots. He then crept closer to the crater, with Brittany close behind him. When they got to the edge, they peered in. The kids had watched the tree shrink in size for many months, but never quite believed that it would really be gone.

In the past, they had seen open flames in the stump. The fire had scared them away from peering this closely. Today, though, the white ash looked like a blanket of snow covering the hole. Jake poked his stick into the circle. The fire appeared to be gone. What they didn't understand was that although there were no flames, the coals were still burning hot underneath the white cover.

Jake and Brittany circled the crater, poking their sticks into the ash. Brittany reminded Jake that they were supposed to go right home. Jake assured her that they'd go in a minute. With those words still hanging in the air, he stepped onto the inside ledge that lined the pit. It was like taking the first step into a pool. Even though she was anxious about getting home on time, Brittany followed him. Jake had made it to the other side of the crater, so Brittany assumed that the ground was solid everywhere--but it wasn't.

When Brittany put her left foot down onto the ledge, she began to sink. At first she didn't realize what was going on. It happened so quickly. Before she knew it, she had sunk up to her knees. It was then that Brittany began to feel intense heat beneath her feet, and a bitter acid taste in her mouth. There was a moment of stunned silence, when even the birds seemed to hold their breath. That silence was immediately shattered by an endless, piercing scream.

Brittany's legs were encased in hot coals that had been burning for the past three days. The temperature was around 1200 degrees, quickly destroying Brittany's thin legs as she struggled to escape. Unable to use her legs, Brittany hoisted herself out of the hole with her arms. At this point, she wasn't fully aware of what she was doing. All she could think about was getting home. She could feel her shins burning. Her feet were burning, too.

Then, something amazing happened. With her legs burned so badly that it would take months before she would be able to walk again, Brittany started to run. Defying logic, and science, she shot up from the burning hole in the ground and sprinted up the road, skin falling off her legs with every step she took. Her long, beautiful strides defied her burning legs--and defied the fact that a person burned this badly, should not have been able to move, let alone run.

Brittany will always remember looking down at her feet and seeing what she describes as "transparent toenails floating in blood" Then, looking below her knees, she saw where black rings had formed with puss oozing from her raw, discolored skin. These were the scariest moments of her life.

By the time she reached the house, Brittany's feet had swollen to four times their normal size. The burns made her legs unrecognizable. Her remarkable survival instinct had propelled her forward--which is the only way to explain her running through the terrible pain.

Brittany's father was outside mowing the lawn with ear muffs on. He was stopped cold by a heart-wrenching scream that his ear muffs couldn't block out. He turned off the mower and ran to his daughter. Seeing the damage to her legs, he lifted Brittany and hurried toward the house, yelling for her mom.

Mrs. Young heard the screams too. As she got to the door she saw her husband running toward her, Brittany in his arms. Just then, Jake came running up the road, tears streaming down his cheeks. He was unable to speak, likely in a state of shock. This was his baby sister whom he adored and protected. One minute she was across the crater from him, and the next she had bolted up the hill, screaming. He didn't even know what had happened.

Mrs. Young fought back tears as she hurriedly placed Brittany in the back seat of the car. Then, she remembered her first aid training. She knew that she was not supposed to put ice directly on the burns, but that she had to cool them down. She quickly ran towels under cold water and wrapped each of Brittany's legs, trying to block out the screams. This needed to be done, even though it hurt.

In most places, the immediate thing to do would be to call 911. But the Young home, located on a secluded section of Haleakala, was difficult to get to and it would take a long time for an ambulance to make the trip. Instead, they decided to drive the thirty minutes down the mountain and head to the hospital themselves.

Brittany sat with her towel-wrapped feet dangling in a cooler of ice. Mr. Young drove, trying to go fast, but also dodging bumps and potholes that came with unpaved roads and rural living. The drive down the sugarcane-lined mountain, which was usually so peaceful, seemed like an eternal nightmare.

Luckily, the emergency room at Maui Memorial Hospital wasn't crowded. When Brittany came in, she was treated immediately. The doctor on call, however, was not experienced with burns. It took the help of a seasoned nurse to recognize that Brittany's injuries were severe and would need more extensive care than Maui Memorial could offer. This special nurse also gave Brittany a teddy bear. Brittany says that the bear was a source of strength for her. She named him Boo Boo, and has him to this day.

After attempting to treat the wounds, the medical team decided to have Brittany flown to the island of Oahu immediately. Honolulu, which is the largest city on Oahu, has several specialized hospitals--including a burn center. Maui doesn't have a burn center and without proper care, Brittany's prognosis would not be good. As the doctors wheeled her stretcher onto the two-prop plane, they knew they had to hurry. Every minute would help save Brittany's legs, giving her the chance to walk again.

Besides Brittany and the paramedics, only one person could fit into the plane. This was devastating, because neither parent wanted to leave Brittany's side. They decided that Mrs. Young would accompany Brittany on the twenty-five minute flight to Oahu. The flight seemed to take about ten times that long.

As the plane soared above the clouds, Brittany lay on the stretcher, her small frame dwarfed by the blankets and straps that held her still. She was in great pain, and the noisy plane was so loud she could barely talk. Mrs. Young stared out the window and tried not to panic. Who could have imagined that instead of going to the beach for a Memorial Day picnic, they would be flying to a hospital in Oahu? Her beautiful daughter, who should have been home dancing in the waves, was now lying on a gurney, wracked with pain.

These thoughts were interrupted when the pilot announced that they were five minutes from landing. Mrs. Young tried to give her daughter a reassuring smile but Brittany saw the fear in her mother's eyes. Brittany squeezed her hand and forced a smile. She was being strong and brave, but the worst was far from over.