Kids at Burn Camp form relationships to help with the healing
By Lisa Smith
Correspondent
The kids emerge from their bunkhouses with big smiles and excitement written all over their faces for a special day during Burn Camp at Camp Timber-lee in East Troy on Aug. 16.
Last week, the camp hosted the 24th annual summer camp for burn-injured youth and Thursday was visitors day.
The campers arrived Aug. 13 for a week full of fun activities, friendship and support. Nurses from surrounding areas came to talk with the campers, therapy dogs were brought in, free massages offered, field trips taken and a lot of games were played – just letting the kids be kids.
A sense of togetherness and compassion develops among these campers as they speak and confide in other survivors. Hearing other people’s stories and struggles show these kids they are not alone.
That’s what this camp means to 14-year-old Therese Kalt.
“What I’ve learned in the four years I’ve been coming here, it is how to look past the scars and see the person on the inside,” Kalt said. “You make lifelong friends here … you know you’re not alone.”
Kalt suffered second and third degree burns to her stomach and sides while draining boiling water from her pasta.
“It just splashed up off of some dishes in the sink and my skin immediately started to peel away, it was so painful,” she recalled.
After a hospital stay and three weeks of treating the burn for infection, she said she could move around easier.
While the physical scars remain, the emotional scars begin to heal with this special program.
The Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation and Camp Timber-lee provide this free summer camp to children, age 7 to 17, who have experienced life changing burn injuries.
“This camp brings young survivors and the people of Wisconsin together for a positive purpose,” Foundation President Mahlon Mitchell said in a press release. “Many of these kids go through life without meeting anyone ‘like them’ or that are going through similar experiences.”
The staff at Burn Camp is comprised of firefighters, medical professionals, adult burn survivors and countless other individuals willing to volunteer their time for an entire week. More than 100 burn survivors and staff volunteers come back to camp every year.
“For more than 24 years, burn camp has been offered to all of our burn survivors and their families at no cost to them,” foundation Executive Director Michael Wos stated in the press release.
The theme for this year’s camp was “Sea What Can Be” which focused on the importance of having an open mind and keeping a positive attitude. The adult survivors are an inspiration to the young campers.
Melissa Kersten, director of Burn Camp and a nurse practitioner at Ascension Columbia-St. Mary’s Hospital, recognizes the invaluable effect emergency personnel have on the campers and vice versa.
“When These kids see all these emergency vehicles and personnel coming to support them – it’s amazing. They see them as heroes!” Kersten said. “It’s exciting for both the kids and emergency workers; it gives them a sign of hope. These workers have seen these kids at their absolute worst and then to see them running around and smiling makes it all worth it.”
