Boundary County Excellence: Trinity Gaffield overcomes burns to shine at BFHS

BONNERS FERRY — Trinity Gaffield, a Bonners Ferry High School senior and athlete, has everything going for her.

However, nearly three years ago, Trinity was battling for her health after suffering burns in a fire. In May 2020, she was sitting on her bed removing acrylic nails with acetone and leaned too close to a candle flame — that’s when she caught on fire.

Trinity said she didn’t remember if her hand caught fire, but remembers trying to put out the flame on her leg where acetone was spilled.

“My jeans went up and I was on fire,” she said. “I dropped and rolled.”

Trinity fled her bedroom and her father, Jeremey Gaffield, was able to put the fire out.

Christian “Chris” Gaffield, Trinity’s mother said her first reaction when she saw Trinity was, “my child is on fire — how bad is it.” She said if it wasn’t for Jeremy, Trinity wouldn’t be here.

“He reacted right away and was putting her out before she was in the doorway,” she said. “Seeing my child in that much pain was terrifying because there was no way for me to ease the pain.”

“My second reaction was, is she going to die,” Chris said.

Trinity was rushed to the local hospital in Mountain Home, and once stable, was flown by medical helicopter to Salt Lake City. This was two month into COVID-19 lockdowns and the Gaffields were concerned for Trinity’s immune system and risk of infection on top of COVID-19 concerns.

When a body gets burned it continues to burn, Chris said. The doctors in Utah were unsure how large and how deep Trinity’s burns were.

“After first they thought she had burned 38% of her body, then 40%,” Chris said. “Finally, they realized 18% of those burns were third degree or worse. That’s not a number parents want to hear.”

She added that the doctors said Trinity would be impacted by accident for the rest of her life.

Both Chris and Jeremey Gaffield are military veterans and have extensive experience caring for traumatic injuries. After the couple purchased necessary equipment and received wound care training, Trinity was released from the hospital after four days and five nights.

“Most of the time with the extent of my injuries people don’t leave (the hospital) for one or two months,” Trinity said, adding she is grateful she got to leave much sooner.

She said the flames attached to the acetone attacked her legs and left her jeans undamaged. Thankfully, Trinity didn’t sustain any internal damage, but received burns on 40% of her body with about 15% of the burns at least third-degree burns. Most of the damage went to her legs.

She said she was lucky to not have received any damage to her stomach or her lungs, but her throat was “scratchy” after taking in the smoke.

Trinity only took the minimal amount of pain medication, Chris said. She said “I’m not getting addicted to drugs,” and so other options were explored.

She had doctor visits online and was told to set goals for healing.

In June 2020, her goal was to try out for volleyball in two months. The doctors told her to set a more realistic goal.

“In July, she still had open wounds and wore bandages,” Chris said. “She tried out and got the manager position.”

The accident was definitely life-changing. In the accident Trinity burned her calves muscles, which she continues to work to strengthen. In addition, new and baby-like skin on her legs is susceptible to sunburns.

However that injury, which might make others slow down, has only inspired Trinity to push harder. In fall 2020, shortly after the accident, she went out for volleyball, a sport she’d played since fifth grade. She joined the softball team and returned to cheerleading after nearly a decade.

Trinity had always been a bigger girl and said when it came to sports people looked at her like she couldn’t do it.

“After the accident people looked at me as injured and that I wouldn’t be able to do it as well as others,” she said.

That pushed her to rise to the challenge. It made her want to prove that she could compete and that she could succeed, she said.

“She is a goal setter,” Chris said. “She sets goals and sticks to them. She hasn’t let anything stop her.”

At 5-foot-2, Trinity has been a base on the Badger cheer squad and has been a leader on the team. She holds girls from 95 to 135 pounds up on her hands and shoulders.

“I basically throw girls in the air and catch them,” she said.

“What helps me the most is when the person I’m putting up is doing what they're supposed to (…) and locking their whole body out,” she said. “No matter the weight of the flier. If they do what they are supposed to, they feel light.”

Trinity joined the Badger cheerleading squad and took second in stunt and fifth in show routines for 3A All Girls State Competition on Feb. 10. Badger cheer had not competed since 2019 when they only had four girls on the team.

Trinity said she enjoyed the show routine because it ended with a pyramid with her holding a girl with one hand.

She has been to state cheer competitions before since her mother, Chris Gaffield has a long cheer coaching career, but she’d never competed on the state mat.

“Going to state, nothing like competitions before. It's a different adrenaline,” she said. “The second you step on that state mat, you see all the glares from teams you're going against and the teams cheering you on. That adrenaline fuels you so much.”

Having those other teams hope you mess up pushes you even more, she said. To handle the pressure she said, “we say ‘no,’ we need to succeed in this, we need to bring something home.”

“We didn’t bring home a medal, but brought back the reputation of second place,” she said. “Before we had four girls, now we have a squad of 11.”

“To grow in that short of a time and show what we have is incredible,” she said. “When competing at cheer competitions, no one is used to seeing Bonners Ferry.”

Going out on the mat and showing them what Bonners Ferry can do is amazing, she said.

“In the first competition, we took first in every subject and helped build our reputation,” she said.

Trinity is still in the process of growing back her nerves. She still gets shooting pain, Chris said.

Due to the accident, Trinity has had to raise her calorie intake and is encouraged to maintain a sedentary lifestyle, but she is not backing down.

Chris said after the accident Trinity has taken life more seriously and has set more goals. In addition, she is more sensitive to people with disabilities and goes out of her way to make them comfortable.

“I’m truly blessed to have her as my daughter,” she said. “Never underestimate the power of healing. A positive mindset can heal people faster than you think.”

Trinity plans to go college in order to become an elementary school teacher. She has been accepted to several schools in Idaho and Utah. She wants to continue athletics whether it is in cheerleading or another sport.

• • •

Boundary County Excellence, is a new column at the Bonners Ferry Herald which will feature community members that inspire others whether through accomplishments, community service or life experiences. If you know someone who is an example of Boundary County Excellence, email us at news@bonnersferryherald.com.