Hi, you are “face to face with Shell”.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES THAT BURN SURVIVORS CAN EXPERIENCE?
I wanted to do this page after talking to other burn survivors and listening to their stories. It brought it home to me that we all have to be mindful of others and what they might be going through; not only burn survivors.
I think we all can be a little kinder each day to each other.
Please watch this video and/or read on:
When we think about burn survivors, what comes to mind? Do we think initially about the injury, then the healing process, and also how to cope with an altered body image/being disfigured/living with scars, etc?
Maybe these issues might not even cross our minds?
Yet, there are other issues and not only the pain, and how we have to cope with continued surgeries; what about the financial aspect?
Do people ever look at a burn survivor and think any of these things? Are they just staring at the scars?
I look at when I was burned, at the age of thirteen, as being “lucky”. I had a stable home to come back to after I was discharged from the Burns Unit and because I was not of employment age, I did not have to worry about supporting myself.
There are burn survivors out there, who have lost everything; not just their “old self” but maybe their possessions (photographs, household items, clothes, etc.) the fire maybe happened in their house, therefore, they might have lost their enter home, family members.
Sometimes burn survivors cannot go back to their employment once they are “healed”. It may not be physically possible. They may have lost parts of their hands/fingers. Maybe parts of their bodies are so badly scarred that it restricts their movements.
They may not even want to go back to employment, as it is so hard for them to even go outside.
I think we tend to forget about these people (myself included) as I did not have to go through this sort of thing and I was VERY lucky. I had a stable home to come to after I was discharged from hospital and VERY supporting family and friends…but not everyone is as lucky as I was.
I think we all have to bear in mind when we look at someone, that it is not only the injury that we see on the outside that they have to deal with. I think we should all be mindful of what people have to go through on a daily basis. It might have taken them months to rebuild their lives, before even contemplating coming outside and I think we all have to be aware of our actions and words. The slightest of stares or inappropriate comment could put someone back months.
If you, unfortunately, find yourself in a situation where you are struggling; in whatever way, there are agencies out there that can help. I am aware that Dan’s Fund For Burns (link below) can help people who are struggling financially, along with other support. You can also contact your local Burns Unit, GP Practice, Citizens Advice (link below) who will hopefully be able to guide you to the help that you need.
https://www.dansfundforburns.org/
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
On here, I am trying to give as much peer support as I can. Please remember that you can contact me personally. Please visit the page below.
I have also put together another page where other help can be found: