When Kenneth Cruz “Smoke” Reyes, Jr. suffered burns over 90 percent of his body in a terrifying motorcycle accident, he needed advanced, specialized care in order to survive.
Smoke and his wife Phoebe found that and more at Regional One Health’s Firefighters Burn Center, the only full-service American Burn Association-verified burn center in the region.
Now, Smoke is back home and continuing to undergo rehabilitation therapy, and the family is grateful for their second chance at life together.
When Phoebe Reyes says her husband Kenneth Cruz “Smoke” Reyes, Jr. is a walking miracle, she isn’t exaggerating.
He is a testament to the power of love, faith, and first-rate medical care – all of which he needed to survive and heal after a horrific accident. Phoebe and Smoke say they’ll be forever grateful for the role Regional One Health’s Firefighters Burn Center played in that journey.
Phoebe Reyes is grateful to the Firefighters Burn Center for giving her a second chance at life with her husband, Smoke, who was burned over 90 percent of his body in a motorcycle accident. “Just having him walk by and hug me is the best thing I could ask for,” Phoebe said. “He’s a walking miracle.”
“This burn unit is amazing. The compassion is amazing,” Phoebe said. “You’re not just a number – they build a relationship with you. They treat their patients like their mama or daddy.”
Smoke’s ordeal started in March when he was test driving a motorcycle he’d been working on. A longtime bike enthusiast, it was a routine activity – until the bottom of the bike caught fire.
The flames caught his clothing on fire and caused the bike’s clutch and brakes to malfunction. “The brake cable and the clutch melted together into a ball. The fuel injector came off and was spraying gas, so he was covered in gas,” Phoebe said. “The flames just came right up over him.”
Smoke had to crash-land his motorcycle in a parking lot at a high speed.
Amazingly, he didn’t break any bones in the crash. The burns, however, were catastrophic.
By the time he laid down the bike, he was fully engulfed in flames. Both of his hands were completely degloved, meaning the skin and tissue were stripped from the bone. He was burned over 90 percent of his body, with first and second degree burns to his chest and abdomen and third and fourth degree burns on his legs and arms. His clothing had melted to his body.
The hospital nearest the family’s northern Mississippi home wasn’t equipped to care for such severe injuries, so Smoke was airlifted to the Firefighters Burn Center. As the only full-service American Burn Association-verified burn center within 200 miles of Memphis, the Firefighters Burn Center can treat the most critical injuries thanks to its unique expertise and resources.
Smoke needed them desperately.
While he was in the air, he crashed, his body going into shock and becoming septic. He needed an escharotomy, an emergency surgery that involves making incisions through the dead skin caused by the burns to relieve pressure, restore blood flow, and improve lung capacity.
It was the start of what would be an 84-day ICU stay, numerous surgeries, and a rollercoaster of ups and downs. Phoebe said Smoke’s team, led by Firefighters Burn Center Medical Director Travis Webb, MD, never gave up.
Smoke’s family has been his inspiration throughout his care. He spent 84 days in the ICU and continues to do outpatient rehabilitation at the burn center.
Smoke was alert enough to talk with Phoebe that first terrifying night, but he took a scary turn a few days later. “He had to be placed on a ventilator. He lost a lot of blood,” she said. “He had to be sedated for weeks, and it was touch and go for a long time. He literally was having surgery every other day, then every week.”
At one point, burn surgeon Dani Kruchevsky, MD sat down with Phoebe before a particularly challenging surgery. “He told me there was only an 18-20 percent chance Smoke would make it, and he wanted me to be prepared. They were always very straight with me, and I appreciated that,” she said. “The whole team came out and we prayed together.”
Smoke made it through, and Phoebe looks back on it as a turning point.
Smoke came off the ventilator a while later, and doctors removed his feeding tube. “Smoke did not believe in God before the accident, but after he woke up, he said, ‘I got saved. I’m going to follow Christ.’ I knew it had happened. The air in the room felt different,” Phoebe said.
By late June, Smoke was able to be released.
Since then, Phoebe and Smoke have continued making the two-and-a-half-hour trip to Memphis several times a week for specialized burn rehabilitation and wound care services led by Tony Alleman, MD, medical director for wound care and hyperbaric medicine.
“He’s doing amazing, and everyone at the burn center played a part in that,” Phoebe said. “They work as a team, they answered all our questions, and they treated us like family. It’s not just a job for them – they love what they do!”
“It’s a long drive, but it’s so worth it. Everyone here is so good to us,” said Phoebe, who wrote thank you cards to every provider who played a role in Smoke’s care. “He’s healing really good. We’re down to compression shorts, shirts, and sleeves. He just got his first pair of shoes.”
Now that they’re back home, they’re marveling at how precious their time together feels.
Phoebe, a former respiratory therapist, and Smoke, a former firefighter, got married in 2022 after meeting at a benefit Smoke’s motorcycle club held for a 12-year-old boy undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Smoke’s daughters Cheyanne, Isabel, and Jocelynn keep him motivated to do more with each passing day.
“We’re adjusting to being home. Just having him walk by and hug me is the best thing I could ask for,” Phoebe said. “He’s not supposed to be alive. He’s a walking miracle.”
“He’s doing amazing, and everyone at the burn center played a part in that,” she added. “They work as a team, they answered all our questions, and they treated us like family. It’s not just a job for them – they love what they do!”