I am a burn survivor, not a burn victim

I am a burn survivor, not burn victim. That is the correct way to describe someone who has been burned. I used to call myself a burn victim until I learned from other people who were burned that the correct way to call a person who has been burned is a burn SURVIVOR. So I am no longer a victim of the fire or of my burn, I am a survivor. And I like that better. Makes me feel more powerful to be a survivor rather than a victim.

As a burn SURVIVOR, it implies that I survived something, which I did. I survived one of the worst injuries that can happen to someone. In fact, I didn't just survive it, I am surviving it everyday. Everyday is a hurdle to get over, whether it's emotional pain, physical pain, anxiety, etc. So everyday I am surviving those things. I am no longer a victim. A victim implies helplessness over their situation. I am not helpless against my situation, even though sometimes I feel like I am. but I am not. Deep down inside of me I have the strength to get through everyday if I just apply that strength. But that is still hard for me to do. I am 2 years out of my accident and I'm still having a hard time finding the strength to get through each day, even though I am surviving this injury everyday. Does that make sense? I find it hard to have the strength but somehow, i survive each day of this injury, despite if I may have had the strength to get through the day or not because I am a survivor, not a victim.

According to a doctor on a TV show once, he said that a burn is one of the worst injuries to ever happen to someone. My life changed in a split second when I caught on fire and incurred one of the worst injuries to ever happen. My life has never been the same and never will be. I don't know if I'll ever be able to do a cartwheel on the spring grass again or reach things in a cupboard. I have had 21 surgeries so far and am still on the long road to recovery so I am looking forward to many more surgeries of reconstruction yet. The doctor has basically told me that I will most likely be a lifelong patient because of how badly I was burned. But does this news make me a victim? No, it makes me a SURVIVOR because I still make it through every surgery, every doctor appointment, and simply, everyday. What kills me the worst though and makes me feel like a victim sometimes is when I have to be assisted in the shower, assisted in getting dressed and getting a glass out of the cupboard. So it is hard for me during those times to see myself as a survivor but I must constantly remind myself that despite the fact that I have to be assisted in these things, I survived that fire and I survive the day because I go to bed every night to wake up in the morning to a new day. But it's another day I have to survive so I cry a lot wishing I didn't have to "survive" the day in the way that I do.

This accident took my life from me. When I think of it like that, in my times of weakness, I feel like a victim. But it's true, the accident took my life from me. I just have to find and learn a new life now because I survived and I am a survivor. Some days I wonder if I'll get through it, but I do somehow because I am a burn survivor. That is part of my identity now. I wish it never was, but it is and I must face it with all the inner strength I have and look at my situation in the eye and say, "I will survive you because I am a survivor, not a victim, and I will not let you make me a victim."