Maurice Lee was involved in a car crash with a lorry and his vehicle caught fire after the collision.

Maurice's injuries included burns to his head, face, hands, right arm, right shoulder and the right side of his leg.

Since the incident he has had several treatments for his burn injuries. These include the amputation of his fingers, skin grafts and blood transfusions – he spent roughly four months in the burns unit and has follow up surgery every two years.

Maurice described how he coped with his injuries: “My recovery was very slow and at times painful.

I had a lot of support from my wife and friends, there were good days and bad days, but thankfully most of them were good. I had to make the decision to make the best of a bad job and help myself live to the best of my ability.

I’ve made a very good recovery overall, but I have bad scarring on my body.”

Burn injuries often require skin grafts, but as these grafts heal, scar tissue forms and in many cases it contracts. This is a constant reminder of the burn injury and can also restrict movement in areas such as joints, the neck and hands.

Thanks to our supporters a ground-breaking research project is being undertaken to improve the long term outcome for patients like Maurice by exploring how injecting adipose tissue (fat) under scarred and contracted skin can help improve skin quality and flexibility leading to a better quality of life.

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