Burn Camp brings together survivors for support, fun
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After Tyaira Cobb suffered burns from an accident involving hot water, she had a hard time explaining to her friends how the experience affected her.
“When I talk to my friends at home about it, they don’t really understand how traumatic the experience is,” she said.
Cobb, 15, of Duquesne has been able to connect with other kids her age who can relate through Allegheny Health Network’s annual Summer Burn Camp being held this week.
“Talking to the other kids (at camp), they know exactly how I feel — they understand me completely,” Cobb said.
The camp, now celebrating its 33rd year, brings together burn survivors ages 8 to 16 for five days of activities. This year’s theme is “Be All You Can Be Under the Sea,” with activities including trips to Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium and Kennywood and three days at Camp Kon-O-Kwee in Beaver County.
The 20 campers participating this year get to attend for free through donations.
“It’s a safe place, so no one is going to make fun of them here. No one’s going to say, ‘What’s that from?’ ” said Linda Leonard, a burn unit nurse at West Penn Hospital who serves as Burn Camp director. “Even if it’s a small burn, they still have a scar, they still had to wear pressure garments, they still have to exercise that area of their body, so there’s still a stigma to having a burn injury.”
This is West Penn Hospital’s 50th year of providing burn care at its West Penn Hospital Burn Center, where many of these kids were treated.
Leonard said getting to see the difference in the kids from when they are in the hospital to when they come to burn camp is one of the best parts for her as a nurse because she sees the transition from being in pain to being able to enjoy themselves.
Jacob Stahl, 15, of Fox Chapel has been coming to camp for three years and said seeing his friends each year keeps him coming back.
“Everyone shares the empathy for everyone else,” he said of the campers. “Everyone’s always considerate. That’s a big part of this camp.”
Leonard said, in addition to the camp’s recreational activities, it offers support programs to help kids adapt to living with their scars.
“We do have some peer group sessions where kids can share stories about either being teased or how they feel about their scars or how they’re adapting,” she said.
Most of the camp’s volunteer counselors were previous campers and know what everyone is going through.
Krasimir Kaercher, 30, is now a counselor, but spent many years as a camper after he was burned by boiling water when he was 12. He said he looks forward to spending time with the kids each summer.
“I know, emotionally, what the kids feel when someone might point out their scar on them or a burn,” he said. “You can kind of coach them through it or make them laugh and say, ‘I got burned, too, and look at where I’m at now.’ ”
Landon Porreca, 15, of Greensburg has taken that advice to heart. He’s been coming to camp for about five years and said it just feels like any other summer camp for kids. He said he looks forward to reconnecting with friends he’s made in previous years.
“Honestly, you don’t even know about the burns,” he said. “It feels like you’re not even at burn camp. It feels like you’re at a camp.”