My First Burn Picnic

I went to a Burn Picnic hosted by the Portland Firefighters this weekend and I had a blast! I have to admit though, that as we got to the park and were walking up to the site of the picnic I started to get a little nervous about seeing all these people. But as soon as I spotted Helen, my OT in the burn Center, I caught her attention and she made me feel at ease at once. I settled in and began a fantastic conversation with an old therapist I had when I was at RIO (Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon), her husband, another OT from the Burn Center and Scott, another burn survivor. I had a fantastic time just chatting away with these people, especially with Julie (the RIO therapist) and her husband and Scott. So great in fact, that we were engrossed in conversation for like an hour and at the end, Julie and I exchanged information and have already begun to email back and forth.

But I met many other burn survivors while I was there and it was really good for me to be around other survivors. There was only maybe one that was burned worse than me. I was probably the worst burned there. But I was ok with that. It was also a small crowd but I enjoyed all three hours that it lasted. I cannot explain to you the almost immediate bonding that occurs between two survivors, particularly survivors of the same pain and suffering. And I got to experience it several times as I met several new burn survivors and saw old friends who were burn survivors as well. It is as though there is an immediate understanding of the pain and suffering each has had to go through and KNOWING that pain and suffering personally so you can relate to the other's. You almost feel at ease deep in your heart around them because you KNOW absolutely they are not judging you for they have gone through or are going through either exactly or similar experiences as you. You feel at ease with your scars because you are around others who share your scars with you.

So all in all, it was a great experience for me and I'm so thankful to my parents for taking me and I'm so happy they both went. I think it was good for them too because there were other caretakers there too for them to relate to. Thank you Portland Firefighters for hosting such a wonderful event.