It was the nightmare before Christmas for Kendra Corning, who suffered severe third-degree burns to her right leg after being set on fire by her four-month-old puppy.
Kendra, 38, spent a month in hospital recovering from the 'bizarre and random' ordeal, where she underwent two surgeries and had to learn to walk again after her puppy knocked a lit cigarette into her lap.
Now, a year later, the North Carolina psychologist is speaking out to shed light on the reality of recovering from a severe burn.
“What happened on Christmas Eve was completely bizarre,” Kendra recalled. “I feel like the accident has affected my life in every way possible, but I'm so grateful to be alive.”
Kendra Corning, from North Carolina, suffered third-degree burns in 2022 after her puppy knocked a lit cigarette into her lap
Kendra's right leg was burned and blistered after the accident, requiring her to stay in the hospital for a month
Kendra was sitting outside with her three dogs: Boston Terrier Charlie, Pomeranian Bailey and four-month-old Rottweiler Rory at 8:30 p.m. when the accident happened.
She remembered sitting in her doorway watching the dogs play in the yard and hiding under a blanket while she talked to her mother on the phone.
As she lit a cigarette, Rory ran past and bumped her, causing her cigarette to hit the blanket, which immediately caught fire and set her pants on fire.
“I tried to put it out with my hands, but it grew and grew,” she recalls. 'The heat was so intense and the pain was unbearable.
Kendra said she “screamed” but managed to wriggle out of her pants and the fire went out before calling 911.
The pain caused Kendra to pass out. When she came to, she was surrounded by emergency services.
She received pain relief from paramedics before they crated the dogs and rushed her to UNC Medical Center in North Carolina.
Kendra fainted again and woke up in the hospital on Christmas morning with her leg wrapped in bandages and her body feeling like it was “still on fire.”
The pain caused Kendra to pass out. When she came to, she was surrounded by emergency services (Kendra pictured in hospital)
Kendra, 38, spent a month in hospital recovering from the 'bizarre and random' ordeal, where she underwent two surgeries and had to learn to walk again
Kendra's four-month-old Rottweiler, Rory, ran past her and accidentally set her pants on fire, resulting in severe burns that took her nearly a year to recover.
'I was so confused. I had no idea where I was,” she admitted. “The doctors explained that I had suffered third-degree burns to my right leg.”
Kendra said the first time her doctors removed the bandage from her leg, she wanted to “vomit.”
“It felt like part of it was missing,” she said, and regularly changing her bandages and having a physical therapist help her walk again felt “like torture.”
“I did my best to endure the pain,” said the brave woman.
Her mother and boyfriend took turns visiting her and caring for her dogs.
Kendra's mother had to help shower because she couldn't get the area wet.
After a month in the hospital, Kendra was discharged and her mother moved in with her temporarily to help her recover.
“The painkiller I was prescribed barely helped, and some days I had trouble getting out of bed,” she said.
Kendra saw a doctor every week to assess her progress, and each time she was told that her burn was healing well.
Fortunately, Kendra managed to return to work a year later in a part-time role as a psychologist
Kendra's boyfriend (pictured with Charlie and Rory) and mother helped her recover from her ordeal
She returned to work four months after the accident, although she was unable to return to work as a psychologist because she was constantly exhausted.
“I have a part-time job in a supermarket,” she admitted. “I was really struggling.”
Kendra said she applied after finishing physical therapy at the end of June, but had several setbacks with her health and limitations due to the medications she was taking.
'For the past four months I have struggled to find full-time work. “I was able to keep myself afloat, but I went through my savings and got into debt,” she explained in an interview GoFundMe.
“I am asking for money to help me continue to pay my bills, care for my three dogs, and to help with major medical expenses that I have not been able to pay more than $50 a month for.”
Fortunately, Kendra managed to start a part-time job as a psychologist a year later.
She also no longer smokes around the dogs and is conscious of the substances she wears, always wearing sunscreen.
“I have a lot of scars on my leg, but I am learning to accept it because it is a testament to what I have survived,” she said.
'In the future I hope to start dog therapy with Charlie to help other survivors.
“I want to show them that there is hope and that they can come out the other side.”