At times during my encounters with businesses across the eastern United States, I encounter individuals who leave a memorable impact. Recently, I had one of those encounters.

During a visit to the Charleston area, I was approached by the general manager of a business location with which I was involved.

"I may be really out of line here, but can I share something with you?" she requested.

Not knowing what to expect, I followed her back to her office where she pulled out a folder she had safely tucked away on her desk.

"My little niece was involved in a fire recently and received burns over 56 percent of her body," she said, as she pulled out a very disturbing photograph of a barely recognizable, precious little 2-year-old girl.

My heart was melting, and I became visibly touched as she described the events that transpired. "Her name is Allyssa, and she was actually saved by her 4-year-old sister who ran through the house waking everyone," she described. "It's hard telling what may have happened had her sister not been awakened during the fire."

The next photo she offered was equally disturbing and showed the tiny child enduring a fully bandaged face with only openings to see, breathe and eat. Anyone who has children can understand how frightening something like this can be for a child who doesn't understand.

The helplessness a parent feels during these times is indescribable.

"How is she doing now?" I asked. A smile came across her face as she produced the final photo in her collection.

"She is doing awesome!" she spouted, and then proceeded to show me a picture of the most beautiful little angel I had ever seen.

"She's at the Shriner's Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. They have done a remarkable job with her surgery!"

Truly they had.

Tears of compassion became tears of amazement as we both examined the miracle smile on the beautiful little girl, who, without the care of the Shriner's Hospital, would be facing a life unimaginable. They had literally given Allyssa and her family their lives back.

She is scheduled to return home soon.

The Shriner's Cincinnati hospital is one of a network of 22 facilities that provide medical care for children. The Cincinnati unit focuses exclusively on pediatric burn cases. Part of the Shriner's mission is to provide medical care at no cost to the patient or family regardless of financial need. Unfortunately, the hospital receives no government assistance and is solely dependent on its endowment and donations from Shriner members, their temples and the public to fund its hospitals and programs.

"The Shriners organization pays for all of our hospital operations, all of our salaries and all the patient care," says Carl Scheiner, senior respiratory therapist at the burn unit. "It doesn't come down to the bottom line. We're definitely patient care-driven."

An absolutely Herculean effort by the Shriner burn center, and no one is more appreciative than little Allyssa and her family.

Mark Caserta is the founder of West Virginians for Prayer and travels the country teaching business operators situational leadership strategies designed to maximize profitability. He is a native West Virginian and resides in Cabell County.

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