Last week, Michael Nolte stood before family members, friends and former caretakers at University Hospital and recalled his time at the hospital three years ago — when 40 percent of his body was covered with third-degree burns.
Nolte’s return did not invoke the same anxieties his first visit did. This time, the Kansas man was in Columbia to receive the hospital’s Hope and Spirit Award, given to former patients who show courage and perseverance in overcoming obstacles.
In his acceptance speech, Nolte was specific: “1,104 days ago” began the rehabilitation that put him back on his feet.
In a phone interview later, he recounted the accident that put him in the hospital.
On May 22, 2003, Nolte was pulled over near Higginsville by a police officer while driving to Mexico, Mo., from his home in Leawood, Kan., to prepare for a friend’s funeral. As Nolte sat in the officer’s Crown Victoria while being issued a warning, a truck struck from behind. The impact pushed the patrol car into an adjacent field but did not hurt Nolte or the officer. However, the explosion of the car’s gas tank trapped the two men as flaming gasoline flooded the floorboards.
“The car was fully engulfed in flames in two seconds,” Nolte said. A reconstruction of the accident later estimated that the fire had reached upward of 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Although he was conscious, shock prevented Nolte from moving. As a result, he suffered burns to his face, neck and left hand. His legs were most seriously damaged because of their close proximity to the gasoline. Two passers-by removed Nolte from the car, but they were unable to save the officer, Micheal Newton.
Nolte was flown to University Hospital, where the next day he received the first of seven operations. During these surgeries, charred tissue was removed, and living skin was harvested from other parts of his body and planted onto the affected areas.
Nolte said that although he was enthusiastic at first, the rehabilitation process showed him clearly that his life had been irrevocably altered.
“I thought that I would not let this experience be more than a bump in the road,” Nolte said. “When I became narcotic-free, I learned that was not realistic and a waste of a life experience, a life lesson.”
Nolte pointed to a specific event as having influenced all other parts of his recovery. When the rescue helicopter first took off, its destination was the campus hospital at the University of Kansas. But when it was learned that the burn ward there was filled, the helicopter headed to Columbia.
“I was not only being flown to the best burn unit, but my home,” said Nolte, who has several family members in central Missouri and had lived in Columbia for 13 years in the 1980s and ’90s. “Mid-Missouri is my roots.”
During his 10 weeks of rehabilitation, friends and family from both Kansas and central Missouri visited him in support. To help, Columbia bed and breakfasts and hotels provided free rooms for visiting guests. Nolte said he was moved by the offers of the businesses, with whom he worked often as a wedding coordinator.
“The heart of Columbia really showed itself to me,” he said.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, University Hospital has been awarding one Hope and Spirit Award each month since March.
Nolte, 52, said he was humbled by the honor. “There have been hundreds of other patients who have had more significant stories,” he said.
Still, he added, “I hope mine really does give somebody encouragement.”