GENDER
male
AGE
19
NAME
Steven
BACKGROUND
I was seven years old when I got burnt in a fire in my house. I remember being sent into hospital. I remember that it was worse than a horror film. I have some memories of what it was like in hospital and remember that I needed to have some operations.
I can’t remember how old I was when I started going to Burns Camp. Before I went to a burns camp I felt different, I did not know anyone else who looked like me. I had thoughts about being a freak or a zombie. The first time I went to camp I thought, ‘Wow, there are other people like me who have been burnt too!’
Because I was young when I got burnt I found it really difficult at first; I felt awkward about looking different. But then I got more used to my burns and started to think, ‘Well, that’s what makes me different and that’s not so bad.’ I guess I became more accepting of myself and my burns. If people called me names or made fun of me I would just think, ‘Have they ever experienced, lived through and managed a burn injury? Have they ever coped with scars?’ I have been able to say, ‘So what! I am a stronger person because of what I have been through. I can stand up for myself now’.