By Meghan Holohan -
TODAY
Rachel Standfest was 36 weeks pregnant when she noticed smoke in her home last May.
Her husband, Travis Standfest, was sleeping, so she ran upstairs to wake him up.
Immediately, they both realized that they had to escape.
"I helped Rachel out the window and then I grabbed my dog and threw him in the same place," Travis, 25, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, told TODAY.com.
"By then, flames were coming out the window, so I decided I was going to run ahead of her because I figured I could get out faster."
Rachel and Travis Standfest have learned to care for each other – and their new daughter – in ways they never imagined. Courtesy Standfest family
Both suffered burns.
Rachel Stanfest suffered a skull fracture and, when she arrived at the hospital, doctors performed an
emergency cesarean section
.
Now, nine months later, they are recovering and adjusting to new life as parents.
"We feel normal in early fall," Rachel, 26, told TODAY.com.
"We're trying to figure it all out. We have this beautiful story, and we know that God has a purpose for us now."
A fire, a skull injury, a cesarean section
Last spring, the Standfests were building a new house and were living, in the meantime, in an apartment over the barn at Rachel's parents' house.
On the night of May 24, 2023, the expectant mother was taking care of some details of the baby shower at her parents' house, while her husband was in bed in the apartment.
When she returned home to watch television, she smelled smoke and rushed to wake Travis while he called his mother.
"The last thing I remember is [my mother] yelling, 'You have to get out now,' and Travis removing the screen from the window," Rachel said.
While Travis was helping his wife and dog jump out of the window about 15 or 20 feet (4 or 5 meters) off the ground, flames started climbing up a nearby wall, so he decided to run out of the building.
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"There were still no flames on the stairs. But I fell and then I remember getting up and running," he said.
"When I got halfway across the barn, I could feel my
face and hands burning
."
When he came out, he saw his wife unconscious on the floor while the family waited for an ambulance.
At some point, Rachel woke up and was able to walk to the ambulance with help.
"I don't remember anything," Rachel said.
"My parents said that because I was walking and talking, they didn't think [my injury] was as bad as it was."
The two do not remember much else about that night or their arrival at the hospital, but they said that the firefighters later told them that it had been the most violent fire they had been to in five years.
"The building collapsed on itself, so getting to the fire underneath layers and layers of all that debris was really difficult," Grand Rapids Fire Chief Luke Werdon told local station WOOD TV at the time. , an NBC affiliate.
"The cause is likely undetermined due to the magnitude of the fire. It destroyed a lot of evidence," he added.
All that survived was a photo of the couple with their dog, a Bible and a T-shirt in which Rachel was baptized.
A month in the hospital and a year of recovery
When they arrived at the hospital, Dr. Amy Spencer, a critical care surgeon at Corewell Health in Michigan, began coordinating their treatment in consultation with other departments.
After evaluating the location and severity of Rachel's burns, the obstetrician-gynecologists decided to perform an emergency cesarean section.
"They thought it would be safer for everyone to deliver the baby," Spencer told TODAY.com.
"[The baby] was fine from the moment she was born."
Rachel Standfest was 36 weeks pregnant when she suffered second- and third-degree burns and a skull fracture in the fire.
Courtesy of the Standfest family
When Travis woke up in the hospital the next day, he was shocked.
"The first thing I remember is [...] that I was connected to
a bunch of tubes
. I couldn't talk," he recalled.
"I didn't even know his face was burned. I never looked in a mirror."
Rachel suffered second- and third-degree burns "over about a third of her body," Spencer said, and also suffered a skull fracture from jumping out the window.
According to Spencer, first-degree burns are the most superficial and typically cause pain and redness for a few days, similar to sunburn.
Second-degree burns, also called partial thickness burns, damage the first layer of skin.
Third degree burns are the most serious, as they penetrate all layers of the skin down to the fat.
At first, doctors put both Standfests on respirators, although the mom-to-be didn't inhale as much smoke as her husband.
Her skull fracture also caused some cognitive problems.
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To heal the burns, the couple needed skin grafts, in which healthy skin is taken from one part of the body and placed on another where it has been lost or damaged.
They also underwent a procedure called ReCell, in which skin cells are converted into a spray, which is used to reduce the appearance of scars.
While recovering from the burns, the couple had to face some challenges, especially during the application of the bandages.
"They changed our bandages every two days, and that was painful because they would scrape [the burn] and re-bandage it," Rachel explained.
"They sedated us each time, but when I left [the hospital],
I felt like I couldn't move my legs
. I was numb and stiff."
Travis and Rachel Standfest recovered in separate rooms and couldn't always see each other in the hospital, so they texted each other.Courtesy of the Standfest family
The tightness of the skin caused by the injuries and treatment also limited his mobility.
But it was important that they move to avoid bigger problems.
"If you don't move those areas, they can stay tight or get worse," Travis said.
"It's a fight with your brain like, 'I have to endure this pain to get results.'"
Rachel had a tougher recovery due to her skull fracture.
She needed cognitive therapy and to be in a dark, quiet room.
She was discharged after staying almost a month in the hospital, but she had to return for new skin grafts.
Most of the time she felt a lot of pain in the place where the doctors had removed the healthy skin.
"They both had large areas where skin had been removed, which makes them more painful," Spencer explained.
"
There is no way to heal burns without pain
. Unfortunately [...] the skin is full of nerves."
For much of their hospital stay, the couple was unable to see each other due to their limited ability to move and the new mother's medical need for darkness and quiet.
But they supported each other through text messages, and their desire to be with Brynlee kept them motivated.
Her family cared for the newborn while her parents were hospitalized and recovering.
"We wanted to come home and start our new life," Rachel said.
Even after returning home, he needed help with the bandages.
Her husband took her care very seriously.
"Every two days I changed my bandages and stretched my legs so they wouldn't get stiff," Rachel said.
"I don't think I could have done it alone because it was hard. So it was really nice to have [Travis] help me."
A new house and a baby
In the fall of 2023, Travis returned to work as the owner of a heating and cooling company.
Sometimes the burns on his hands make his work difficult.
"I work with sheet metal and sometimes I cut myself," he said.
"I just have to figure out how much I can do, what feels good, what doesn't feel good because I hit my hand. What didn't bother me or hurt before now
causes intense pain
."
Very little survived the house fire, apart from a Bible and a blouse that Rachel Standfest was wearing when she was baptized.
Courtesy of the Standfest family
Since returning home, the couple is dealing with the mental and physical trauma of surviving the fire.
Rachel can't smell, probably due to her head injury, Spencer claimed, while Travis feels he is extremely sensitive to certain smells and dangers.
"It seems like my senses are heightened when it comes to the issue of security," he explained.
"Now I'm the first person to notice that someone is making a bonfire or cooking on a stove."
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For about a year, their skin will continue to heal and they may need additional treatments, Spencer added.
The couple has also been participating in talk therapy and joined the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors.
Spencer said burn recovery often includes navigating difficult emotions and can even
cause post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
"We try to follow up with our burn patients to make sure they have the support they need," he added.
Through this experience, Standfests have supported each other.
"We came to support each other in ways we never imagined we could," Rachel said.
"[Travis] was my rock."
Travis agrees and said that this experience
strengthened his faith in God
, especially after seeing the video of the fire.
"The question is how do we escape?" he said.
"I have no idea".