Jeff Umphreys


Jeff and his wife Kathryn 

VIENNA TOWNSHIP, MI –Jeff Umphrey doesn't focus on what tragically happened to him, but what he can now do for others.

It's been 30 years since Umphrey, 66, survived burns to 54 percent of his body. The left side of his body had third-degree burns and after several months of painful rehab he kept pushing forward in his life.

"This is the way I look at it. It happened. It happened. I'm surviving. That's the way I look at it," Umphrey said.

Now, Jeff and his wife, Kathryn, volunteer at Hurley Medical Center's burn unit and give inspiration and encouragement to families going through the same thing.

That's the reason why the Vienna Township man was chosen as the Trauma Ambassador for this year's Annual Trauma Center Golf Classic at the Flint Golf Club to benefit Hurley's Trauma Center and Burn Unit.

"(Umphrey) was chosen due to his amazing survival story. Jeff was a patient in our Burn Unit 30 years ago, and today, he has no limitations," said Ilene Cantor, Hurley spokeswoman. "In fact, he's a volunteer with his wife in the Hurley Burn Unit, the same unit that saved his life, providing hope, inspiration and assistance for those on their burn recovery journey."

On December 10, 1985, at age 37, Umphrey was working as a body shop mechanic when a gasoline spill changed his life.

While taking a gas tank out of a car, gas spilled on Umphrey and a nearby light bulb. The gas ignited and lit him on fire.  After being rushed to Hurley, doctors discovered he suffered third degree burns to 54 percent of his body, on his chest, abdomen, legs, left arm and hand.

"It melted my shirt right off me," Umphrey said.

He spent six weeks at Hurley, four of those weeks in a medically induced coma, with continued surgeries and skin grafts, followed by rehabilitation for several more months.

It was a long road for Umphrey and his family. But he kept working and moving forward, he said. His three children were big motivators.

"I had to heal for them and my wife," he said.

And so he started the process. He was off work for eight months. He had to work on stretching his skin on his left side and left arm.

He would lie on the floor and lift a 5-pound weight to work his arm the best he could.

And now besides the scars that still cover the left side of his body, Umphrey said he is functioning like normal.

His wife, Kathryn, said the day of the accident she was frantic. She called hospitals trying to find where he was.

It was hard watching him in the hospital. She was there every day by his side. And even when rehabilitation was painful he was an inspiration, she said.

"It was a struggle. It was a struggle to see him in pain," Kathryn Umphrey said. "He was determined to (fully recover). That's just the way he was. That was part of his life to go forward."

Now they can give back together as a couple that understands the pain and the healing process.

Every week – sometimes multiple times a week – Jeff and Kathryn are at Hurley volunteering in the burn unit.

Jeff Umphreys talks with the families, gives them encouragement and lets them know healing will come.

"He shines when he's up there. He gives people much hope. He's a natural," said Kathryn Umphrey. "He understands the emotional and spiritual healing that needs to go on with these people. He can connect. ... I'm so proud of him."

Jeff Umphrey loves to give back and show patients they can heal from burns, they can heal from the anger and the pain.

He looks past the burns and the injuries and sees the person, he said.

"Just to see the calm on their faces when I get done talking to them is rewarding to me," Umphrey said, adding that he can encourage survivors from his experience. "Just keep going. Just keep moving. You have to move that body. ... Even though the pain was there. I had to keep moving it."

The 31st Annual Trauma Center Golf Classic at the Flint Golf Club is set for Monday, Sept. 14, at the Flint Golf Club. It will benefit Hurley's Trauma Center, which admits more than 1,500 patients annually.

For ticket, donation and sponsorship information contact Hope Ponsart-Hansen at the Hurley Foundation at 810-262-9399 or hponsar1@hurleymc.com.

This article was written for the Flint Journal by Sarah Schuch