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(Image: NORTH NEWS)

Troy McKinley, 19, was severely burned in a house fire after a tea light started the devastating blaze in his grandmother's home.

The 19-year-old was initially given just a 5% chance of survival but continues to battle through the brutal burns.

He asked for the picture to be posted with the message “this is me, if you don’t like it do one”.

(Image: FACEBOOK)

Emergency services found Troy and his cousin making their way out of the burning building, in Shildon, on October 14 last year.

Troy lost all of his fingers and had to have numerous skin grafts to keep him alive.

Doctors described it as “one of the worst cases” they had ever seen.

(Image: NORTH NEWS) (Image: NORTH NEWS)

But Troy has stunned everyone and is on the slow road to recovery.

The teen asked his sister Abra Wood to post the picture of his injuries on social media in a brave act of defiance.

Abra, 25, said: “Troy asked us to take a photo and upload it on to his Facebook account, he said to say ‘this is me, if you don’t like it then do one’.

“This is the only picture we have taken of Troy in 15 weeks. I’m incredibly proud of him.”

(Image: NORTH NEWS)

Thousands of messages of support have been posted for the teenager as he continues to overcome his life-changing wounds.

Abra added: “After spending 14 weeks on the critical care unit Troy is awake and he can talk.

“He’s still a very, very poorly boy and he still has a very long way to go, but he is doing this.

“He’s just generally making a miracle recovery and we are so proud we really are.”

She said: "He didn’t care what people thought – he just wanted to show people how much the doctors and nurses really had done.

“People were shocked at the picture, but he looks a million times better now than he did in the beginning.”

The family have set-up a JustGiving page in support for Troy.