World Burn Congress 2012

This year's World Burn Congress for 2012 was in Milwaukee, WI.  Last year was my first year.  This would be my second.  I didn't think I would be going because I didn't think I'd get a scholarship two years in a row but I got a phone call on the afternoon of August 16th on our way back from a Jack White concert and a doctor appt from my old occupational therapist at the Oregon Burn Center and she told me they wanted to give me another full scholarship to go.  How could I say no?  So all we would have to pay for was my companion's plane ticket and registration fee.  And this year I was taking my mom.  Last year I took my dad.  So this would be my mom's first year at WBC.  I was very honored to receive another full scholarship and very excited to go for another year.  It's important to me.  I learned so much last year that I knew I would learn a lot again this year between workshops and keynote speakers and just being around other survivors, old friends and making new friends.  It's a long hard trip but so worth it in the end.

So Monday mom and I drove down to Portland to stay at the Sheraton so we could leave our car there instead of at long term parking.  Plus we had to be at the airport around noon anyway so it would have been too long of a day driving down the same day we flew out.  Tuesday we woke up, went downstairs to have some breakfast in the hotel restaurant and I was really getting excited now.  I wasn't looking forward to the flights cause OBC handles all the flights with everyone who's sponsored that goes so you never know what they're gonna put you on and there's always a layover so that wasn't too much fun to think about.  But thinking about being there, a new city to explore and seeing old friends from last year and the opportunity to make new friends was the exciting part.  Soon we were heading out to the airport on the shuttle from the hotel.  We were a little worried about Doc getting through TSA security cause he can't go near anything magnetic so I couldn't take him through the xray machines or he'd go haywire so on the TSA site, it said I would have to make a TSA member aware of it and ask for a pat down.  Well, I didn't exactly know how this was going to go down in reality.  TSA members are not always the friendliest of people.  They usually hate their jobs and wish they weren't there.  But luckily the xray that you used to walk through has officially been replaced by a non-magnetic machine that scans your body so all I had to do was walk through and once I got to the other side, Doc of course showed up on their screens, I let them know I had a diabetic insulin pump and they made me wipe my hands on it and then tested my hands for any chemicals cause I guess I could make a bomb out of my pump.  Who knew.  

After getting through the airport security, we grabbed some lunch and then went to Starbucks where we sat and had some coffee, waiting to go to our gate.  We had some time but soon that time passed away and we headed down to our gate.  We met up with another burn survivor friend from Portland that I knew at Starbucks so we all walked down together and soon enough one of my favorite people I've met in the burn survivor community came walking to our gate and she gave me a big hug.  It was great to see them both.  

(Mum and I sitting down for some lunch at the airport)

We were flying US Airways on the way there.  I'd never flown that airline before nor had I ever heard of it so I was expecting something a little ghetto but it turned out to be quite nice actually.  Pretty spacious and friendly.  Our layover was quick both coming and going.  So on the way over on our layover, my mom and I hoofed it to the other gate all the while keeping our eyes peeled for some food we could grab real quick because it would be our only food between then and when we landed, which was after midnight local time.  Luckily we found a little place selling sandwiches so we grabbed a couple and continued on to our gate which began loading not long after we got there.  My mother's favorite drink on an airplane trip is ginger ale.  She always orders a ginger ale when they come around to ask if you'd like anything to drink. 

(Mum and her ginger ale)

Finally we arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  There was about six of us who were all traveling from Portland to the WBC so we put three each in a cab and headed to the Hyatt, where we would call home for the week.  I checked me and my mom in and we headed up to our room, which was on the sixteenth floor, and plopped down on the beautifully made beds once the door was shut behind us we were so tired from all our traveling.  The hotel was gorgeous.  

 (Inside the hotel, up on the 16th Floor)

 (The kind of elevators with the glass windows on the back so you can see out when you're going up and down.  My mom couldn't look out, hehe.....)

 (Our room, room 1606)

We didn't have too early of a morning the next morning but early enough with the time change.  We had registration at 10:00 A.M. so we had to have some breakfast before then and then we would have a little bit of time after that to get our things together, look at the schedule they provide before our pre-congress workshop began at 12:30 P.M.  

(Mom and I at breakfast Wednesday morning)

(All registered.  Mom has a red heart on her name tag which indicates that she's a first timer and first timers get lots of hugs :) )

This pre-congress workshop is a little extra fee and they're usually about four hours long but always worth it.  Then everything really starts on Thursday and lasts till the banquet on Saturday night.  My pre-congress workshop that I signed me and my mom up for was "Not Just Surviving: Tools for Thriving After a Burn Injury."  And it was really good.  I don't think it was as good as the pre-congress workshop me and my dad went to last year but still, very good and worth the extra fee and time.  After that workshop, we were done until the Walk of Remembrance at 6:00 P.M. and then the kick-off Gala at 7:30 P.M.  I always love the Walk of Remembrance.  It's humbling and a great way to kind of start things off.  

 (The banner that is marched out front that everyone is welcome to sign. Me and my mom's signature is up by the where that water bottle is.)

(My girl Jan and I before the Walk)

 (Sweet Mona and I getting ready to make the Walk)

 (The bagpipers who always lead us on our Walk of Remembrance.  They sound so beautiful)

 (Firefighters always lead us in our walk and stand along the side of the road to welcome us)

 (Hundreds of survivors, caregivers, family, friends, and health care professionals walked)

 (Reached our destination)

 (At our destination, before speeches began, the bagpipers played some more music) 

At the kick-off Gala, they provide food for dinner and some music but there I met up with my first old friend, Luciana from Florida.  She's originally from Brazil but she now lives in Florida with her husband.  I knew her long before I met her for the first time in person last year at WBC so it was so wonderful to see her again this year.  Last year she brought her husband and this year she was with her mother like me!  So we sat at a table together and talked and talked and caught up on some things.  She's a wonderful girl.  I adore her.  After we had eaten and talked with some people, my mom and I were pretty tired so we headed back to our hotel room where we looked over the next day's schedule and eventually crashed.  

The second day they provided both breakfast and lunch for us so all we would have to figure out for ourselves was dinner.  But we had that all figured out because we went to this wonderful little joint about a block and half from our hotel that the bellhop highly recommended for lunch on Wednesday before we went to our pre-congress workshop and we fell in love with it.  Cute place, great food and great service. 

(Buck Bradley's Saloon and Eatery)

We eat breakfast in the big ballroom over at the Frontier Airlines Convention Center and then soon after breakfast was our first keynote speaker - Kyle Maynard.  And he was AMAZING!  His whole shtick was "No Excuses."  He had been born with a congenital defect that left him with no arms past the elbows and basically no legs but he did sports and even climbed Kilimanjaro on all fours all the way to the summit.  His story was incredible, he was an incredible speaker and his message was inspirational.  Both me and my mother LOVED it.  Then lunch was right after his speech, which was provided, and then we had another workshop to go to that would be the best workshop I attended all week called, "Pain is inevitable, Misery is Optional: Your Right to Happiness."  It was about an hour and a half long workshop but I got so much out of it.  I'll have to do a separate blog post just on that workshop alone cause if I included it here, this post would be a novel.  Then once again, we were done for the day around 4:00 but it was a miserable weather day.  Raining.  So we stayed inside, except for venturing out to our favorite restaurant in Milwaukee that we knew of during a let up in the rain later.  

Friday we didn't have much later in the afternoon and it turned out to be a beautiful day so we decided that would be our day to go on the River Walk which is a beautiful walking route along the Milwaukee River not far from our hotel.  We pretty much started at the north end of it and walked down to the farthest point south that we could go.  It was a good walk so we got some exercise and sunshine and fresh air in.  That night for our dinner we went to Rock Bottom which was along the river.  

 (Boats along the River Walk)

 (Mum and I starting the River Walk)

(Eating at Rock Bottom Brewery)

Saturday we hardly had anything to do cause it's the last day and there wasn't anything going on that applied to me except the second keynote speaker that morning.  Who was also AMAZING.  Both keynote speakers were just so great.  I got so much from both of them.  This man was a little different, he was an actual burn survivor but his message was impacting.  It left it's mark on me for sure.  Then after that we had the closing ceremonies and J.R. Martinez accepted the 2012 Advocacy Award and he gave a little speech so that was a lot of fun to see him in person.  Later after the passing of the flag at the end of the closing ceremonies (which is always emotional), I got an autograph from J.R.

 (The main ballroom in the Frontier Airlines Convention Center)

 (J.R. Martinez accepting his award and giving a speech)

 (Passing of the Phoenix Society flag)

 (Mum and I at closing ceremonies after we've passed the flag)

 (J.R. signing a picture card for me)

 (J.R. signing autographs)

(My personally signed autograph from J.R. Martinez)

That night we had the closing banquet where we are served a three course meal and listen to a few speeches from people who get awards for the year and then the band plays and you just have a great last night.  

 (Mum and I at our table at the Closing Banquet)

 (Our banquet table, table 24)

 (Fellow Oregon Survivor, Maxine and I at the Closing Banquet)

 (Oregon Survivors Laurel and Maxine)

(The band at the Closing Banquet)

It was sad for me cause I really don't know if I'll get to go next year.  I mean, are they really gonna award me another scholarship for a third year?  I'd love to go as it's in Rhode Island next year so we'll see how everything goes.  I learned so much again.  Lessons that will stick with me forever and memories to last forever.  It was so good to see my old friends from WBC last year and great to make new ones.  I feel at home around these other survivors so it's always sad to leave.

CLICK HERE to see the Phoenix Society's World Burn Congress 2012 slideshow!