There’s nothing quite as inspiring as the women who can take the obstacles they face and turn them around and make them work for them.
How they find their strength matters less than the fact that they did. When some people face true hardship, they struggle and sometimes freeze up, unable to progress any further. But these women take the challenge as nothing more than a mere speed bump on their road to success.
Harley Dabbs is one woman who embodies this mindset perfectly. Even though she is only 21-years-old, she has been fighting back against cruel bullying for 18 years.
You see, tragedy struck when Harley’s home caught fire and burned down when she was just 3-years-old! Harley was caught in the fire and suffered severe burns across her body. Doctors originally believed she only had a 2 percent chance of living, but Harley was a strong woman. She was going to beat those odds! Now Harley has to face another challenge, a social stigma against those who don’t fit the mold of being perfect.
Harley Dabbs is truly an inspiration for remaining strong throughout all of this hardship when those around her never bothered to learn her story. But now Dabbs has an inspiring response for others like her younger self, who are bullied constantly.
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Born a happy and beautiful girl, Harley Dabbs was being raised in Eden, North Carolina. But when everything seemed to be going swimmingly, the Dabbs home caught fire when was just 2-years-old, almost three.
The Dabbs’ home caught fire due to some bad wiring.
My mom was trying to catch up on some laundry and I guess the wires got so hot and they ended up catching on fire
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Her parents were outside at the time and although they saved her sister, Sierra Lane Dabbs from inside, Harley was trapped inside the house. Eventually her father rushed in to save her.
Unfortunately, 3-year-old Harley suffered burns across 80% of her body. Doctors gave a grim outlook on her survival. Just a 2% chance of surviving these burns. But Harley beat those odds and not only survived, but found a way to thrive with them.
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Her success wasn’t without a lot of hard work and hospital visits.
For nearly two decades Harley had to go to Shriner’s Hospital for Children all the way in Cincinnati, Ohio so she could get the skin grafts and other surgeries she needed. Harley knows though that it was divine intervention that allowed her to survive against all odds.
Harley told the Daily Mail..
God allowed me to live
And through Shriner’s Hospital, Harley was able to meet and befriend other burn survivors like herself, that gave her the strength to make it through life.
Shriners is my second home. I felt like I was another species and it made me feel okay being there because there were poeple who looked like I did — I actually felt like I belonged.
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However Harley wasn’t spared any amount of bullying by her cruel tormentors during her school years. It got so bad that Harley would get depressed and at her worst points, even suicidal.
I wouldn’t go anywhere. I wouldn’t leave my house. If I did go somewhere, I would fully cover myself no matter how hot it was outside, I’d wear coats and long pants.
