"There was commotion around the loading dock," said Marek, who was a production coordinator at a steel door company in Montebello. "Someone had run a forklift into a tote of hot glue. I backed it up, pulled forward, and all I saw was a big, orange light. That's when I knew I was in trouble."

Marek's body was covered with third degree burns. Doctors kept him in a coma for close to two months.

"When I finally came to, I remember looking in the mirror," said Marek. "When I first saw my face, I just cried."

Marek required months of rehabilitation to regain limited use in his hands, arms and legs. He had to relearn how to eat, how to shower, and how to brush his teeth.

"I was ashamed at first," said Marek. "I kept thinking this is all because of something I did. But it wasn't my fault. And if you blame yourself, you can't show your scars and you can't move on."

Marek began volunteering with the outpatient unit at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, now in Aurora. A few hours turned into seven years of service at the center, where Marek shares his story of recovery with those undergoing treatment.

"I think that's when things started to turn around," said Marek. "It's just telling them that life goes on and that they can and will get better."

Marek works alongside many of the same doctors and nurses who treated his burn injuries in 1994 in the center's burn trauma unit. His co-workers say his story provides a greater sense of healing than any other type of therapy or treatment.

"To see he's on with his life, functioning and well adjusted, it gives them faith that they'll be okay too," said Betsy Trumble, a physical therapy supervisor at the CU Health Sciences Center.

"That's all the pay I ever need," said Marek. "It takes a lot of time to heal, but knowing they are touched by my story, and hearing the thank you's, that's the best gift I could ever get in return."

Please join 9NEWS and Regis University in saluting Pal Marek, the winner of the May 2008 9Who Care Award.