The Morning Sun: Childhood accident inspires PSU student to become a nurse

By Stephanie Potter

Evan Greenwell, a nursing student from Tonganoxie, was a 13 year-old on summer break when he caught fire after gasoline was poured on a nearby brush pile.

The accident left Greenwell with red puffy burns across his face and on the majority of his left arm. He underwent debridement which is a painful process in which dead, damaged and infected tissue is removed to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue.

It was the care Evan Greenwell received at Children’s Mercy Kansas City which inspired him to become a nurse with dreams of working in the hospital’s burn unit. Although Greenwell was not hired directly into the burn unit, he was hired to be a nurse at Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas.

It was the nurses’ ability to understand what families needed past the medical perspective that left an impact on him, he said. “The nurses there, everything people say about Children’s Mercy is true,” Greenwell said. “They are just phenomenal and the nurses really care, not only about you but they care about your family."

Greenwell said he hopes that he will inspire other children to pursue the healthcare field and continue the pattern.

Read the full story via The Morning Sun

Learn more about Burn and Trauma Care at Children's Mercy