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Karen Boswell

On October 5, 1998 Karen Boswell dropped her two sons, Kenny and Kevin, off for an evening of fun at a North County mall. However, unlike most moms, Karen never made it back to pick them up. Tragedy struck and Karen fell victim to a fiery car crash that left her a double amputee with third degree burns to more than 85 percent of her body. She would lay in a coma for nine months and spend two long years recovering from many surgeries at the UCSD Regional Burn Center. Her prognosis was grim and she was given less than a two-percent chance of survival. No one expected Karen to leave the hospital…but she did. Karen soon realized that by having survived such a serious accident, she was given a second chance at life and she was determined to live life to the fullest.

Before her accident, and when Karen was busy raising her two boys, she would tell them that there is no such word as “can’t” in the dictionary. During the painful rehabilitation after her accident, Karen would receive that same pep talk from her two sons as they visited her bedside. Their encouragement gave Karen the strength to go on and to become a survivor.

It has been eight years since the accident and Karen’s recovery has been nothing less than remarkable. In fact, there is very little Karen “can’t” do. Although, she never returned to her full time career in the construction industry, she now has resumed driving her own van, and regularly volunteers for the UCSD Regional Burn Center and with the Burn Institute. At the Burn Institute, Karen assists with clerical work and special events such as the annual Firefighters’ Destruction Derby and Burn Run/FIRE EXPO.

Through a grant from the Change A Life Foundation, the Burn Institute was able to provide a motorized wheelchair for Karen, which allows her to be more independent. With her wheelchair and her acquired prosthetic legs, there’s little Karen can’t accomplish. Two years ago, Karen drove to Arizona for the World Burn Congress and has attended many Burn Institute sponsored retreats for Adult Burn Survivors.

Anyone who has met Karen can tell you she’s an inspiration to be around. Ironically, Burn Institute Advisory Board Member, fellow volunteer and burn survivor, Cindy Rutter, was Karen’s nurse during her recovery. Cindy told Karen that her recovery is nothing short of a miracle.

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