Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Goodrich.
Michael, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
For all of my adult life, I’ve tried to live as simple a life as possible. I was always very active, enjoyed working with my hands, and playing guitar was always in the mix. I played guitar and sang in a few different bands growing up, and have been playing since I was 14 years old. Around 2002 I found that playing and singing solo acoustic guitar gave me much more creative freedom than playing with other band members collectively picking songs, and scheduling rehearsals, gigs, etc.
I was living in P.B.(Pacific Beach) surfing, playing music gigs, working a part-time job or two. A friend came down from Idaho to stay with me for a few months. He asked me if I’d like to try out river guiding in Idaho. I looked up some videos and knew I’d like to try it. In 2003 I joined that friend, Jer, in Stanley, Idaho and tried Whitewater river guiding. I was hooked and eventually became a guest guide that summer. I spent the Fall, Winter, and early Spring in PB and went back to Idaho to work as a guide again in Stanley, ID. I stayed after the season was over and started a band as well as worked in restaurants to pay the bills.
My third season rafting was sort lived, however. I was working two jobs, plus guiding and playing music gigs. On July 14th, after guiding two daytime rafting trips in a row and hosting an Open Mic at night, I joined some friends at an after party at a big Fire Pit. I fell asleep after a long night, and in the early hours of the morning found myself in the fire pit, burning alive.
Many minutes went by before I could get myself out. No one was around, and it was just getting light out. I finally got myself to of this 5ft deep pit, and could not find anyone to help me. I wound up climbing into a vacant RV trailer, and passed out with a blanket I had found, I figured I’d just go to sleep, maybe die there, but I was in too much pain to keep looking or help.
A man in the neighboring trailer heard me moaning in my “sleep” and finally came in to find me all burnt up under this blanket. He took me to town to get help. It was not looking good. Six to seven hours later I arrived at the U of U Burn ICU in Salt Lake City, UT. I had flat lined three times and had over 45% of my body sustaining 2nd and 3rd degree burns with 10% 1st degree burns on my face and left arm.
The journey through the Hospital stay was three months of very intense surgeries, skin grafts, and surgeries. I started the physical recovery while in there and immediately after getting out I started working out and pushing myself to get back to “normal”. I had finger-tip amputations on my strumming hand, and my voice and lungs were badly affected by the smoke inhalation.
I became angry at myself for causing this, and it became a reason to punish myself for causing this loss to the thing I treasured most, creating music! I spent many years being angry and frustrated and giving up on regaining those musical abilities that used to come so easily.
Over eight years of beating myself up, both physically and emotionally went by before I walked into The Burn Institute looking for some support and wanting a change. I had been there before but was not receptive to the idea that I deserved healing. I was finally ready to open up, and I have been involved ever since with the Support Groups they offer. I volunteer at the week-long Camp Beyond the Scars, for burn injured children ages 7-18. I volunteer at other events and provide music healing sessions at the retreats the Burn Institute sponsors.
The Burn Institute and The Change A Life Foundation gave me the Grant to pursue 3 IT Certifications. I worked long and hard to earn those certifications while working Full time. It took an ear and a half to complete those first three certifications, Shortly after, I landed a job at Sharp HealthCare in the ISD Dept. I have been able to share my story at Sharp and connect the Burn Institute with Sharp. I was featured in many articles for Sharp HealthCare. I now can use my story, my voice, and music as a platform to give back to my community.
In addition to my day job at Sharp, I started doing Voice over work, providing personal PC consulting and repair, and playing solo acoustic gigs in Ramona and elsewhere in San Diego County three to four times per month. I am busier than ever with making music, and also making the other things I enjoy in life a priority. Donating my time to many different worthy causes is at the forefront of that.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I struggled with self-esteem for most of my life. After this physically damaging burn injury, I had a hard time with acceptance of how I looked. Most importantly was how I felt. My confidence was shattered. My identity as a fun loving likable guy was gone. I couldn’t be around people like before, I wasn’t cheery. I could not do the things I did before, and it took a long time of physically pushing myself to get a little closer to being whole again. I had a lot of set backs physically, but in time I pushed through.
I’ve realized that my right hand will never be fully functional, and my fingers won’t extend all the way, but I can create new ways of doing things, new ways of strumming and grabbing objects, etc. I still have a hard time typing on keyboards for my work, and with strumming my guitar, but I make it work. I’ve learned that my voice is my biggest asset and I use that as much as I can to carry the weight both professionally and in my other endeavors.
Most importantly, I’ve learned that healing takes work. It takes a whole lot of openness to being vulnerable and emotional. I had to let myself feel again. I had to start with beginning to forgive myself and being okay with crying in front of other adults as I told my story and looked for guidance. It made me stronger, and I was finally freeing my spirit again. Once I could do that, and be real with people, my whole world opened back up and I’ve been a better person and continue to truly feel better every day on this new journey.
Please tell us about your business.
I have been building up a brand as an all around entertainment provider. I do music entertainment, provide music therapy and have begun creating voice-overs for commercials and advertisements, and am looking into voice acting, I’ve started by building relationships within my community and do care about making a difference. To date, I am most proud that my Burn Camp kids can sing along to the song I co-wrote and recorded for Camp Beyond the Scars. As far as cheesy-yet-cool summer camp songs go, this one is pretty rad.
Also, it has opened up the opportunity for me to be the Lead Music Instigator for the 2nd Annual Anomar Creative Community Gathering coming in May 2020. It is quite an honor to be chosen for that role.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment was at Camp in 2019, when almost everyone in the entire camp, counselors included, participated in learning to play the ukulele with me and learning Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Most of those 55-60 “students” of ours had never touched a ukulele before our sessions, and most of them had it down pretty good in just a couple hours of playing together.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://michaeldeangoodrich.com
- Email: mdgoodrichinfo@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldeangoodrich/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaeldeangoodrich
Image Credit:
John Hancock Photography
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