Eleven seconds. That’s how long it took for Josepha Boudreaux’s life to change forever.
Last Halloween, Boudreaux was surrounded by her children and grandchildren on the porch of her Lafayette home, everyone in costumes inspired by The Addams Family. Trick-or-treating started in less than 15 minutes – just enough time to take pictures before heading out for a fun evening. Boudreaux stood beneath mounds of hula skirt hay she skillfully crafted to resemble Cousin Itt.
In that moment after the picture was taken, a “hair” from Boudreaux’s costume slipped inside a lantern on the porch and touched the flame of a coin-sized votive candle. The sudden blaze was so powerful that someone inside thought the home was on fire and called 911.
“I immediately felt something, then I looked down and said, ‘Oh my God. I’m on fire,’” Boudreaux recalls. “We were huddled together on the front porch. The next thing I knew, I was in my son’s arms in the landscaping. I couldn’t move.”
Boudreaux’s family immediately sprang into action without thought or concern for their own safety. Her husband Jude removed the top portion of the costume and flung it aside, a move that likely prevented severe facial burns. He and their adult children began patting Boudreaux down with bare hands in a desperate attempt to put out the intense flames. They each sustained first- and second-degree burns in the process.
“The fire was just so hot,” Jude explains. “Seeing the person you love on fire, you have no choice but to do what you got to do with what you have in the moment.”
The Boudreaux family was rushed to FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, home to southwest Louisiana’s only Burn Center. Jude and their children were treated and released the same night. The story wasn’t the same for Boudreaux. Doctors determined she had sustained burns to more than 60 percent of her body. She would spend 40 days in the hospital enduring seven surgeries, 15 skin grafts and multiple blood transfusions. The pain was often unbearable, and her wounds needed around-the-clock care. Yet, Boudreaux was thankful for her “burn whisperers,” who anticipated every need and rarely left her side.
“I know they saved my life,” she says. “If anything felt wrong or different, they always knew the right person to take care of it. I was amazed at how they never let anything slip by. It was intuitive to them. They knew exactly what to do at every moment.”
Dr. Joey Barrios, Our Lady of Lourdes Burn Center medical director, said the center’s highly-trained team includes surgeons, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, dietitians and others who specialize in the unique care needs of burn patients.
“The care involves a lot of pain control, wound management, removing unhealthy tissue and preventing infection as we work toward getting the wounds to heal,” Dr. Barrios explains. “It’s a unique situation because most of these patients are very healthy one minute, and, within seconds, they immediately become one of the sickest patients in the hospital.”
Boudreaux says she was nervous when doctors told her she was ready to go home, but was reassured by their confidence that this was the next step in her path toward resuming a normal life. Three months later, she still has regular appointments with the Burn Center’s outpatient team and sees a separate occupational therapist three times a week.
“My left arm sustained most of the third-degree burns, and the majority of it is now grafted,” Boudreaux explains. “It’s still difficult to move that arm, but I see improvement every day. I’m amazed by what the occupational therapists are able to get me to do. My body still wants to tighten up, but I don’t want that to happen. I have too much I want to do.”
Today, Boudreaux is more humble and grateful for those around her, she said, including her four children, seven grandchildren and numerous friends – many of them lined the halls to cheer Boudreaux on this December as she made her way outside the hospital for the first time in months. Loved ones donated more than 180 units of blood in her name at the Our Lady of Lourdes Blood Donor Center, and others filled her hospital room with saints’ relics, rosaries – one blessed by the Pope – and endless prayers.
“We knew we were never alone in that room, even when no one else was there,” she says. “In the beginning, I asked God if it was time for me to go, and all I could hear was ‘no.’ It was amazing to feel that way and realize how many people want me here and didn’t want me to give up. My support system has gone above and beyond.”
The experience and her continued healing journey inspired healing in others, Boudreaux said. She often hears how her strength, resilience and the blanket of prayer that enshrouded the family inspired others to mend broken aspects of their lives and relationships. And, it had another unexpected outcome.
Paige Segura, Boudreaux’s future daughter-in-law, completed a nursing degree while Boudreaux was in the hospital. The incident inspired Segura, now a registered nurse, to join the Our Lady of Lourdes Burn Center team and work alongside the people who made such a difference for her family.
“I was the one burned, but this impacted so many families in such positive ways,” Boudreaux says. “It’s what helps me get through the darkest moments.”
Boudreaux hopes to do more in the future to help other burn patients at Lourdes, she said, particularly as they transition from inpatient care to an outpatient setting. Dr. Barrios notes that seeing those patients recover with gratitude and resilience is what continues to make the work so rewarding.
“I see patients for the first time when they are often fighting for their lives and coping with a lot of physical and psychological pain,” he says. “It’s amazing every time to see them walking under their own power, smiling, hugging the nurses and showing us who they were before the injury. There have been a lot of close friendships developed between former patients, and between them and our staff. It’s incredible to see how people continue to turn a negative experience into something positive.”
Our Lady of Lourdes is part of FMOL Health, the leading Catholic health system delivering the best care possible across Louisiana and Mississippi. We are one system connected by mission, driven by people, and committed to delivering care that is both clinically advanced and deeply human. This is how we healthcare. Discover more at fmolhealth.org/healthcare.
