Father of two kids Chris Tomlinson had struggled in life because he had been burned in 98% of his body. He continued to struggle for his daughters while maintaining his faith in God.
Chris was a young boy when the tragic accident happened, and he suffered the burns which almost completely surrounded his body.
He was two years old when he went into the shed in his family’s backyard and unintentionally knocked over a gasoline can.
When the water heater turned on, it caused the flames which burnt 98% of Chris’ body.
After his mother rushed Chris to the hospital, the medical experts gave him 1% chance to live through the night.
Chris’s life changed, but he lived through the night thanks to his family’s support. The tiny child defied all chances and continued to live.
As his childhood was passed in the hospitals, he underwent more than 200 surgeries in efforts to fix his appearance.
“I always found the positivity in everything. I had this big old smile on my face because I knew God was with me… It wasn’t just by my own strength, it was God who was there for me the whole time.” Chris said.
As people would expect Chris to be alone, he again proved everyone wrong, and had his family, with his two daughters. But it was hard for him to keep the jobs he started to work in, because of his physical appearance.
As his wife abandoned him, he was left homeless with his two daughters. Even though they were in a devastating condition, the family and Chris kept his faith in God, and worked hard to change their situation.
Chris started to work on the internet to talk, and be the pioneer of people who got stuck in the same situation as him, to change the world. He started to talk about people with disabilities, and tried to change things.
The reaction Chris got from the internet was different from what he expected, and the donations he received had changed Chris and his daughters lives.
He was married to his wife for 14 years, and they had two daughters together.
“It’s horrible,” Chris said about his wife’s leave, “I’d rather be burned all over again than to experience that pain.”
“I looked at my kids and they were smiling at me and they hugged me,” Chris said. “And I was like, ‘This is my purpose. This is what I need to do — they need me.’”
As he was attending a funeral of his relative, he had an epiphany, and decided to go back to his hometown, Plant City, Florida.
“It’s a big passion of mine to get my story out there. Again, not for me but to bring the glory to God,” Chris said.
“Because a lot of people think God’s not working anymore — God doesn’t do miracles. God does miracles every second everyday. All you got to do is look around you.”