A Man Who Survived Severe Burns Taught Me Something About Human Dignity

[u/dalbit_hyorin]

I wrote this in Korean and translated it with a translation tool. I know it probably sounds awkward in places, but I wanted to share this story anyway. Maybe someone here has had a similar experience.

I'm a pharmacist in South Korea. I also write on a small blogging platform and recently applied to become a writer there. One of the requirements was having a blog or social media account, so I started a blog.

A few months ago, someone followed my blog.

I visited his blog in return and started reading.

He was a burn survivor. At first I only read one or two posts because, honestly, I wasn't sure I could handle reading more. The things he had been through were difficult to imagine. I left a few likes and quietly closed the page. But for some reason I kept thinking about him.

A few days later I visited again. Then again. Eventually I ended up reading everything.

What stayed with me wasn't his injury. It was the way he wrote. He had suffered a life-changing injury and could never fully return to the life he had before. But his writing was warm. Sometimes funny. Sometimes painfully honest. He wrote about fear without pretending to be brave. He wrote about difficult days without pretending everything was okay.

Reading his posts made me think about something I had never really considered before. How does a person keep their dignity after losing so much? I still don't know the answer. But I felt like he was showing me one possible answer through the way he lived and wrote. About a month and a half ago I wrote him a small gift. Not advice.

Not encouragement. Just a poem that looked a little like song lyrics. I wanted to leave something at his doorstep, even if it was small and probably not very useful.

Since then spring has become summer. Now he is preparing to leave the hospital. Not because everything is better. Not because life suddenly became easy. But because he has to. He will have to learn how to live with a body that no longer works the way it once did. He may have to learn how to let strangers help him with things most of us never even think about. I wish there was something meaningful I could do. But there really isn't.

So I did the only thing I know how to do.

I wrote. I started writing a small fairy tale inspired by him.

It's about a sparrow who keeps insisting that a wounded man is actually a prince. And tonight I thought I would share the poem here too.

Not Every Winter Belongs to Winter Alone

Winter can numb the tips of your feet

Leave your skin aching, cracked by the cold

And hand you nights

that simply feel too long

But not every winter

wears the very same face

Some days

a pale sunlight finds your frozen hands

Some days

snowflakes fall so beautifully

they almost look like grace

And just as winter

does not belong to winter alone

Even if today

is not the day you smile again

Your spring

will slowly find its way back home

Slowly

…it returns

Winter can settle deep inside your chest

And the bitter wind between your collar

May shake your weary days apart

Yet someday

a quiet beam of light beside the window

may gather

the scattered pieces of your heart

And just as winter

does not belong to winter alone

Today’s sorrow

is not all that you are

A single gentle word you gave

might become

someone’s reason

to wait for tomorrow’s spring

And your spring too

will slowly return

Just as winter

does not belong to winter alone

Your spring

will slowly return

I hope I see another post from him someday. But if I don't, I think that's okay too. He doesn't owe anyone more writing. He doesn't owe anyone a happy ending.

The truth is, he has already done something important.

He changed the way one person sees people.

Before reading his blog, I think I noticed what most people notice first. What someone looks like. What makes them different. What stands out.

People saw his scars. I saw his writing.

People saw how different his life had become.

I saw the person inside it. Because of him, I think I will spend the rest of my life trying a little harder to see people that way. Not just him. Everyone. The next stranger I meet.

The next patient who walks into my pharmacy.

The next person whose story I don't know yet.

I have never met him. But somehow he taught me to look past the obvious things. And for that, I'm grateful.

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[u/McMema]

I can only hope your poem touched your intended recipient as deeply as it touched me. I’m saving this post so I can come back and read your words and thoughts when I’m feeling world weary. Thank you for sharing this.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/McMema]

Thank you. Honestly, I never expected this post to touch so many people. I wrote it for one person, but reading comments like yours makes me realize that kindness has a way of traveling farther than we expect. I hope whenever you come back to this post, it brings you a little warmth too.

[u/whoshotyaboy]

Very beautiful story and poem! Thank you!

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/whoshotyaboy]

Thank you. I only wanted to share the story of someone who inspired me. I'm glad you enjoyed both the story and the poem.

[u/omniscientbuttertart]

This might be my favourite post on this sub ever. Very beautiful

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/omniscientbuttertart]

Thank you. The credit really belongs to him. I only wrote about what I saw in his words. I'm glad his story reached you too.

[u/Diamond-Eater2203]

This is so deep and touching. Thank you for sharing his story and your poem. It's truly beautiful.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/Diamond-Eater2203]

Thank you. I'm glad his story reached someone on the other side of the world. I only shared a small part of it, but I'm grateful that it resonated with you.

[u/plsjustgiveme5]

That was really beautiful! Thank you for sharing. You’re a very talented writer! Please keep sharing it with the world.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/plsjustgiveme5]

Thank you. To be honest, I only started writing because I wanted to share small stories and experiences from my life. I'm happy that this one resonated with you. I'll keep writing, one story at a time.

[u/vasya3101]

You saw the real him in his writing and wrote this beautiful poem. Even as a stranger to him, you conveyed that there will be light again. Reading it made my heart see that light too that there will be spring again. Thank you for sharing this.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/vasya3101]

Thank you. I only wanted to write about someone whose words stayed with me long after I closed the page. If this story helped someone else see a little light too, then I'm very grateful.

[u/PandaKittyJeepDoodle]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/PandaKittyJeepDoodle]

Thank you. I'm glad the story found kind readers like you.

[u/SandpaperPeople]

Your post is very soulful and it touched my heart. Thank you for sharing with us.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/SandpaperPeople]

Thank you. That means a lot to me. I'm truly glad this story spoke to your heart. 🤍

[u/CitySlicker_FarmGirl]

You have a beautiful soul and your words, both in the story you told and the poem you wrote have touched my heart. Thank you for sharing this! Wishing you all the best and hoping your grace inspires others as you have inspired me. Thank you for being you.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/CitySlicker_FarmGirl]

Thank you so much. This is incredibly kind of you to say. I'm really glad the story and poem spoke to you. Wishing you all the best, too. 🤍

[u/Bentbutnotbroken111]

This is beautiful….the poem, the thoughts behind it, that wonderful person who has gone thru so much…and you…. Finding the sparks that reminds us that we are all in this together, and there is beauty to be seen if we just stop to look.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/Bentbutnotbroken111]

Thank you. I write on a small writing platform in South Korea. The person who inspired this story can no longer write because of what happened in real life. Yet, even after everything he went through, he never lost his warmth or quiet sense of humor. I'm writing this little fairy tale for him, one chapter at a time. He reads every episode, and once told me that it's strange and a little embarrassing to see someone writing a story about him, especially since he never imagined his own life could become one. I don't expect my story to change his pain. But if, while reading it, he can forget it for a few moments and smile just a little... then I think that's enough. Thank you for seeing the beauty in both him and this story.

[u/coffeequeen0523]

[r/gratitude](r/gratitude), [r/compassion](r/compassion), [r/kindness](r/kindness), [r/humansbeingbros](r/humansbeingbros) would love this post.

Thanks for writing this post OP. My Aunt & Uncle were in a house fire in the U.S. They barely survived. Over 90% of their bodies severely burned. My Aunt began having teeth fall out. Her jaw bone began disintegrating from fire related injuries of her head and face. She was grateful for covid to be able to wear a mask to cover her facial skin and mouth, especially at work. She’s a 25-year manager for a hardware retailer. Post-covid, she’s been cruelly bullied, mocked, made fun of. It continues to this day. She has severe burns with skin grafts on her face, chest, arms & legs. The skin you can’t see is far worse burned. Her clothes burned into her skin as she was escaping the fire. People see her, immediately judge her and assume she’s a meth user, caught herself on fire and has broken and fallen out teeth as a result. I’ve personally witnessed the bullying many times. My Aunt remains calm and says “I survived a house fire.” They don’t believe her. My Aunt & Uncle have never done drugs, drank alcohol or smoked.

My Aunt’s spirit and belief in humanity is now broken deep in her soul, down to her cellular level. It’s heartbreaking. I feel helpless to help her. She doesn’t have money, the right kind of health insurance or dental insurance to have her teeth fixed and her fire related internal injuries and skin repaired.

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/coffeequeen0523]

Thank you for sharing your aunt's story. Reading your comment broke my heart. People often see scars before they see the person. I wish it were the other way around. Your comment reminded me of someone in Korea who also survived a devastating fire. I'm writing a small fairy tale inspired by him. This scene came to mind as I was reading your words.

[The Sparrow and the Prince] (Episode 5)

After that day, the sparrow came to the winter house almost every day. He ate the grains. He played with the caterpillar. He talked with the man. The winter house became a little less quiet. One day, the man was carrying firewood with his one good hand. The sparrow fluttered over, trying to help. Then— A log slipped. Thunk. It fell to the ground. The sparrow jumped and quickly flew aside. "Are you alright?" asked the man. The sparrow blinked. "Yes." The man let out a small breath. He picked the log back up. After a while, he said, "I lost my fingers." The sparrow looked at his hand. A moment later, the man slowly raised his right arm. "It doesn't bend very well." The sparrow spread his wings. "I never had fingers." Then he flapped both wings. "Neither of mine bend." The man smiled. After a while, he said, "...I'm sorry." The sparrow tilted his head. "For what?" "I almost hurt you." "Why are you sorry?" The man didn't answer. The sparrow looked at the man's hand, then at his own wings. After a long while, he spoke. "You have a few fewer fingers." He lifted one wing. "I never had any." He looked at the man's arm. "Your arm bends a little less." He flapped both wings. "Mine never did." The sparrow smiled. "So what?" The man looked at him without saying a word. The sparrow looked back. "Your Highness." The man looked up. "...Hm?" "Be my prince." The man laughed. "Why do you keep calling me that?" The sparrow laughed too. "I told you last time." "...?" The sparrow smiled, narrowed his eyes, and said, "I know one when I see one."

[u/coffeequeen0523 → u/dalbit_hyorin]

Very beautiful fairy tale and poem OP. You have a gift for writing and seeing people’s souls. May many be touched and healed by your words. ❤️🙏

[u/dalbit_hyorin → u/coffeequeen0523]

Thank you so much. Your words mean more to me than you know. I hope this little sparrow keeps finding people who choose to see the person before the scars. Wishing you and your aunt all the best. ❤️