A teenager who suffered 85 per cent 3rd and 4th degree burns in a Shildon house fire has told people “this is me, if you don’t like it do one”.
And now his brave act of defiance has gone global, with people across the world showing their support.
Nineteen year-old Troy MacKinlay, who was initially given a less than five per cent chance of survival after the Albert Street fire last October, asked his sister Abra Wood to post a photograph of his horrific injuries online, along with his courageous message, and within hours the post had gone viral.
Messages of support came flooding in for Troy, while Abra was inundated with interview requests, including from 5live and ITV’s This Morning show, where she was invited to share Troy’s story with presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield.
His fight has also been published in newspapers and online news sources around the world, resulting in donations to Troy’s Just Giving page from the USA, Australia, Belgium and the Czech Republic to name but a few.
The family have now raised over £7,000 of their £10,000 target with more fundraising events scheduled, the next one of which is taking place on Saturday 8th April at Old Shildon Workingmen’s Club, between 10am and 3pm.
The family is touched by the amount of support shown to Troy since the fire. Fellow burns victim Katie Piper has been supporting the family, and Troy has now been nominated as a ‘Teenager of Courage’ in the Pride of the North East awards.
Abra commented, “I’m proud of his strength and his courage. With everything he has gone through at such a young age, he is a fighter and he will continue to fight.
“He has been really brave to put himself out there. That photo has gone around the world and it has been a huge confidence boost for Troy.”
Three months on, Troy has now been moved out of intensive care and onto the burns unit at the RVI in Newcastle, where he will need to stay for around another 12 months.
“He really seems to be improving at the moment, some days have been hard, and he has struggled to come to terms with it but now he is out of the ICU he seems to be going from strength to strength,” continued Abra.
To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/abra-wood.