My Nonprofit Reviews

My daughter Claire was burned 8/20/17 - she was 11 at the time; her grandparents' glass tea kettle just spontaneously gave way as she was pouring a cup of tea; scalding water fell on her from just under chest down to thighs. She was wearing spandex shorts, which held the water close to her. We stripped her of clothes right away, but still 2nd and 3rd degree burns on about 15% of her body (so no comparison to what many, many experience, but still traumatic for her). As we pulled clothes off, she handed me her "underwear". She had been wearing flesh colored microfiber underwear, and she thought they melted. but it was actually a pile of her skin that had come off.

I brought her to bathtub and put cool water on - it brought some relief, but she was still screaming. It was so hard to get her to leave the bathroom to get her to the hospital. She did not want to leave the water! awful, awful drive - just screaming in pain - she was pretty delirious.

ER misdiagnosed as 2nd degree burns and sent her home after wrapping her up. They told me to change her dressings, etc. I tried my best, but I sent her into shock - she vomited into her open wounds - poor kid!

We went to the burn unit for dressing change help, and then admitted her given severity of her wounds. It's a blur - in the burn unit for 10 days or so? Again, nothing compared to so many, but hard for her.

She had some really low moments in the hospital, but she was medicated and ok. It was harder when she came home and faced various limitations, fears, etc. She missed the beginning of middle school because she had to stay home with her open wounds. We dealt with awful "nurse" mom trying to take care of her open wounds after discharge - I pale in comparison to the skills of the burn unit! She surfaced a bunch of triggers and fears - diagnosed with PTSD - so afraid of anything warm or hot - scared of her dad's coffee, scared of birthday candles, tiki torches at a play, bunson burner in school, hot plate in school during Cinco De Mayo party that was supposed to be fun, freaked out when we turned our oven or stove on - one time freaked out as she walked through kitchen because a pot of boiling water started to boil over - she was paralyzed in fear.

She put on a lot of weight while she convalesced and was told to eat to give her body the fuel to heal/regrow skin. She is still struggling with eating issues - had been purging and now is binging.

BUT she embraced the burn survivor community! She was a regular attendee of local burn support groups. always the only kid but kept going!!!

The group told me about a camp, but they said the wrong name, which led me to you, the Burned Children Recovery Foundation’s Camp Phoenix. Even though we're across the country, you still opened your arms to her! She came back from her first week with you a completely different person! She had refused to go to girl scout camp that summer (2018 - one year post-burn) because of her scars and her fear of campfires. But she felt safe with you all, and she started to open up to safe fire exposures again! In the 3 years since, she now LOVES candles and lights them to calm down - what a change! She has struggled a lot in the past 3 years - HUGE family stress (her dad left, and they have a really strained relationship), depression, social isolation with covid, continued eating issues, etc. She has pulled away from so, so, so much. She struggles with sadness, social anxiety, overstimulation, etc. BUT her burn survivor community remains a place of connection and confidence! She wants to reconnect, and she feels at home there (even though politically she has pretty strong opinions that don't mesh with everyone!). She finds so much of her identity and strength in the burn survivor community! The Burned children Recovery Foundation has helped her heal her own wounds AND start to give back, which brings me so much pride and gratitude! The social worker at the local burn support group started bringing Claire in to sit with kids who were recovering in the burn unit. I think it helped the kids and Claire! Covid has interrupted that, but I hope Claire returns to it when restrictions loosen. It's so important for her and the community. She talks about wanting to be a SOAR volunteer, and she's talked about wanting to be a counselor at the BCRF’s Camp Phoenix when she ages out. When she's disengaged from so much, she continues to connect with you all! It warms my heart and speaks to the level of connection and love that you showed her in her weakest moments! You really are angels!