Kilee Brookbank was a typical sixteen-year-old, thinking about school, soccer, and her friends. But her last ordinary day erupted in an explosion that consumed her house, burning over 45 percent of her body and sending her to the very brink of death.
After spending thirty-eight days in Shriners Hospitals for Children – Cincinnati, enduring surgeries, skin grafts, perpetual physical therapy, and excruciating pain, Kilee had to discover how to live again.
When Kilee returned home, she had to find a new “normal,” relearning how to tie her shoes, put on her makeup, and even turn a doorknob. In each moment of her long journey back to everyday life, she had to make choices that would define who she was and who she would become.
One of those choices was clear: Kilee felt compelled to give back to Shriners, the hospital that saved her life, and help support other children and families facing their own challenges.
The Kilee Gives Back Foundation was created in 2015 to pay forward the community’s kindness and generosity through events and fundraisers that support Shriners – Cincinnati.