In January 2019 on a cold winter’s morning, Brenton Cambell of Louisville, KY was working on a side project with a friend laying groundwork for a driveway, porch, and sidewalk. Brenton is a foreman for Kokosing Construction, and a Union Carpenter out of Local 175 in Louisville. Brenton’s pants were double-layered and he was wearing duck boots, but after several hours with his knees in the concrete doing finishing work, he began to notice intense pain and discomfort. Once he got back home and was able to remove his pants, “It was just white and purple. You could see the veins…it was something I’d never seen before. There was no way I could get in the water, I didn’t know how to treat it.”
Brenton rushed to Norton’s, who transferred him to UofL Health to treat what was determined to be concrete burn (a variation of a chemical burn), which was eating away at his leg. “It went from right above my knee to close to my ankle. It was pretty severe.” The medical team at UofL Health informed Brenton that he needed surgery, to which Brenton notes, “The doctors at UofL are some awesome doctors. They made me feel really comfortable about the whole process.” Several procedures later, Brenton was on the path to recovery, which would end up taking 4-5 months. The recovery process included multiple dressing changes a day, and to this day the area is still very sensitive.
Brenton didn’t let this keep him down however. While he still deals with residual pain and issues with his leg, he was able to resume working and giving back to his community. For the last several weeks, Brenton has been overseeing construction work on one of the bridges between Louisville and Indiana, and is nearing completion of a sober living home that he is launching in collaboration with his stepfather, who is a licensed therapist. Brenton is registered with the state as a Peer Support Specialist, and the two plan to run this facility to treat mental disability, drug abuse, and other similar issues through their non-profit, Given Life Ministry. When Brenton isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his family and his four children.
More information about the Given Life Ministry will become available in the coming months, including a new website. Please check in on this story for more information as it becomes available!
Brenton Campbell.
Determined.
Trauma Survivor.
