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A day full of poor decisions nearly took the life of a teenage boy and left him with burns on 60 percent of his body. Now, a year later, he's sharing his story in hopes of inspiring other young people to stay motivated and out of trouble.
Sixteen-year-old Jordan Tracy has spent most of the past year in the hospital. He's had multiple surgeries and battled through excruciating therapy, but he says the scars on his body represent a second chance.
From a distance, Jordan looks the part of a normal teenager. But a closer look shows the challenges that have made the last year of his life anything but.
"I'm not scared of anything anymore. I mean, I can't go through more pain than I've already gone through," Jordan said.
On Nov. 29, 2007, Jordan was supposed to be in school. Instead, he was smoking marijuana and playing with fire with a few friends when a nearby gas can exploded.
"Gasoline got all over me, and then I ran to try to put myself out. Stop, drop and roll doesn't work with gasoline," Jordan said.
Tracy was in a medically-induced coma for two weeks. He suffered burns on 60 percent of his body, and over a period of time, several of Jordan's internal organs had to be operated on.
But after all this, Jordan says he's blessed. Not only is he lucky to be alive, but this eye-opening experience has given him the opportunity to think about the path he was on before the accident.
"Just don't give up. Just push yourself. If you can make it through this, you can make it through anything," he said.
Two hours a day, three times a week, Tracy meets with a doctor who works his muscles and stretches his scarred skin. Now he says he wants to use the story of his mistakes to help others, and maybe someday be a doctor himself.
It's that attitude that has captivated those around him. "He just is, you know, one of my heroes. How can you go through something like that and not be a better person?" Jordan's sister Crystal said.
Jordan still has another six months to a year of physical therapy. He still has open wounds on some parts of his body. Once those heal, he hopes to get back to some of his favorite sports -- including snowboarding and swimming.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
