Proud Parents
This is a remarkable story of identical triplet sisters who lost their mother in a tragic fire when they were just 17 months old.
The sisters have survived third-degree burns and endured bullying throughout their lives because of their appearance due their scarred skin, eventually proving how resilient and feisty they all are to fight when life threw curve balls at them!
Proud parents Scott and Patti Berns were blessed with identical triplets in 1987. They named them Trae, Jordan, and Chandra, and the three were inseparable.
Never The Same
The triplet sisters would wear similar clothes and would sleep in the same crib.
Flames
On the night of September 21, 1988, the identical Berns Triplets (Trae, Jordan and Chandra) were asleep in their crib when tragedy struck and changed their lives forever.
As the triplets were sleeping in one crib, a fire engulfed their home in North Richland Hills, Texas.
Critical Condition
Scott, their father, rescued the girls from their bedroom window before the firefighters arrived, while their mom was found lying unconscious in one of the back rooms.
Their mother was in critical condition due to smoke inhalation and passed away three days later.
No Mother
She was only 27 years old.
Trae, Jordan, and Chandra grew up without a mother, and they were left with devastating “reminders” of the fire that engulfed their home. All three babies suffered severe trauma and third-degree burns.
Major Burns
It covered 30 to 45 percent of their bodies, and doctors thought that they wouldn’t make it.
Self Conscious
Chandra, the oldest of the triplets, suffered the most severe injuries with burns on her face, back, and arms, while Jordan had burns on her arms and chest, and Trae on her left arm and face.
In school, the triplets felt more self-conscious, as they were ridiculed and laughed at because of their scars.
Hiding Their Scars
She said, “I remember one time we were at this public pool swimming and this mother, her kids were playing with us in the pool and she grabbed her kids up and she was like, ‘Don’t play with these kids … this is what happens when you play with fire.’”
Supporting Eachother
So they thought of ways to mask their scars to avoid the taunting and teasing from their peers by wearing thick makeup and long-sleeved clothes.
Hope
Remarkably, the identical triplets were able to survive the trauma because they had each other for support, and as they grew older, they were able to overcome the grief and sadness of losing their mother and the physical pain they had to go through due to their burns.
A few years later, Chandra, one of the triplets, came upon a story on the internet about a woman who was burned in a grease fire, and was given laser treatments to heal her scars. The woman was treated at the Palm Beach Esthetic Dermatology & Laser Center in Palm Beach, Florida, by Dr.
Dr. Waibel
Jill Waibel.
Chandra shared the story with Jordan and Trae, which gave so much hope to the three. Immediately, Trae left Dr.
Lumenis
Waibel a voice mail recounting what had happened to them. It didn’t take long before they received a response from the good doctor, saying she wanted to see them personally.
Laser treatment
In 2009, the doctor agreed to treat them free of charge, and even gave them the best surprise by telling them that Lumenis, the laser company, would be paying for all their procedures.
Over the years, the triplets have undergone the pioneering Ultrapulse Total FX laser treatment. The treatment is less painful and quick, reports ABC News.
Getting Married
And the results are remarkable!
The treatment also came at the best time because Jordan was getting married and was looking forward to wearing her dream gown.
“It’s a dress that I really never thought I would get to wear growing up with burns,” Jordan told TODAY.