Second Skin: Another Chance for Kelvin
In 2018, Kelvin van Baalen was just your normal adrenaline loving, happy and healthy 21-year-old with an exciting future ahead of him. He had just met his new girlfriend Robyn a month ago and was busy completing his BA Degree with Psychology as major at Wits University. Life was good.
A devastating accident
An experienced paraglider, Kelvin was taking part in the Barberton Paragliding Nationals on 29 June 2018 when everything changed.
Paragliders need thermal air currents to reach and maintain altitude, but on the day of his accident, the air wasn’t warm enough for Kelvin to maintain his altitude. Trying to avoid flying into the trees of a wooded area, he decided to land on a nearby road but didn’t notice the surrounding power lines in time. His parachute hit the lines and caught fire.
He felt a power surge and was knocked unconscious. When he woke, he was engulfed in flames. He rolled around on the grass to put out the flames and climbed into a tree to escape the fire.
Thanks to a fellow paraglider who saw what had happened to Kelvin and dropped a location pin via WhatsApp, he was soon found by his father Douglas – naked, burned, traumatised, and in shock – clinging to a branch.
When the paramedics arrived, Kelvin was still conscious and in severe pain. He was airlifted to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, where he was admitted in a critical condition.
The gruelling road to recovery
Kelvin had suffered 84% full body burns. He had a collapsed lung, failing kidneys, was severely dehydrated and hanging onto life by a thread. Plastic surgeons were called in immediately, as he required extensive debridements before the multiple skin grafts could begin.
Kelvin had suffered 84% full body burns. He had a collapsed lung, failing kidneys, was severely dehydrated and hanging onto life by a thread. Plastic surgeons were called in immediately, as he required extensive debridements before the multiple skin grafts could begin.
Why skin donation saves lives like Kelvin’s
Besides being the largest organ of the body, skin serves as a protective shield to protect our bodies against germs and harmful environmental effects, while maintaining a healthy hydrated state by retaining moisture.
It also regulates body temperature and allows us to feel sensations such as touch, warmth, cold and pain.
Donated skin is used as skin grafts to treat patients with severe burn wounds. Skin, used as a ‘biological bandage’, is applied on burnt areas. This gives the patient immediate wound cover to prevent infection and loss of moisture.
Treating burn wounds with donated skin is medically recognised as the most effective way to minimise scarring and promote healing of severe burns.
Life after skin transplants
Following his 413 days in ICU, Kelvin completed another three months in a rehabilitation centre. He’s slowly relearning how to walk and dress himself, is in a wheelchair and still receives physiotherapy and occupational therapy at home twice a week.
According to his girlfriend Robyn he hasn’t lost his sense of adventure, and wants to beat his brother at golf. He believes he will make a full recovery in time, and looks forward to the day he can paraglide again.
Kelvin is using his life-changing experience to inspire people around him to live positively and never give up. He says his experience mde him grateful for even the smallest things. “How often are we grateful for just walking around? Not once in my twenty-one years before my accident did I ever think I’d be grateful to be able to walk, let alone be grateful for the food on my plate” shares Kelvin.
Kelvin van Baalen knows that he is lucky to have survived his terrible ordeal. Many people have played a part in his recovery, not least of all the donors who gave him the healing gift of skin when he needed it most.
Learn more about Kelvin’s journey in the video below and on his website