Chris Allen

My name is Chris Allen and I have been a part of the Arizona Burn Foundation since 1990. I was intentionally burned at the age of 3 by a person who held me in a bath tub with scalding water. This caused 3rd degree burns to over 65% of my body. During the initial treatment, I was given an antibiotic to fight a deadly infection I had. Unfortunately the side affects to the medication caused severe to moderate bilateral hearing loss, which led me to a lifelong use of hearing aids.

Over the years the Arizona Burn Foundation has helped me in many ways and has always been available for support. I have been to their annual burn camp, Camp Courage, both as a camper and as a counselor. They helped me get through Dental Assisting school with the MacDonald Wood Scholarship. In March of 2016, I had a major near death experience and I ended up at a hospital in intensive care with a ventilator for 10 days. During my recovery, I lost my career, my apartment, my car and pretty much everything in between. To make matters worse, one of my hearing aids stopped working, meaning the other one was not far behind it. This caused worry due to the extreme out of pocket expense to get new hearing aids. The Arizona Burn Foundation once again supported my ongoing recovery and paid for my new hearing aids. Having new, working hearing aids improved my everyday life and my career as an Oral Surgeon Assistant tremendously. Properly working hearing aids help me function, stay alert and aware, and be more efficient in what I need to accomplish. The Arizona Burn Foundation has always been there for me and have always had an open door for support and proactive assistance – always willing to go above and beyond.

Without the Arizona Burn Foundation I honestly don’t know how I would make it through some the many challenges I have endured along the way.

-Chris Allen