Burn Awareness Week is a kick-off to a year-long educational campaign from Shriners Hospitals for Children®. The 2012 campaign is Be Burn Aware and focuses on teaching children safety tips that will help keep them safe from burn injuries, especially at home.

Fire safety educators visit the hospital each year. They are dedicated to teaching the public what to do when a fire or other emergency strikes: Stop! Drop! and Roll! Dial 911 for help.

Recently, patients at Shriners Hospital in Springfield, Mass enjoyed a special visit with fire safety educators from local fire departments, a member of the Massachusetts Fire Marshal’s Office, a life size Sparky the Fire Dog and Little Sparky. Little Sparky asked, “What is used to put out fires?” A young patient squealed in delight, “I know! I know! Water!” and at that moment, was squirted by Little Sparky’s hose.

Life as I knew it changed on April 28, 2006. It was a regular Friday during my junior year of high school. I was late, which was very out of the ordinary for me because I hate being late for anything. I was so looking forward to the weekend since I was going to celebrate my 17th birthday. Since I was late already, I decided that stopping for a Lemonade Coolatta (frozen slush) at Dunkin’ Donuts wouldn’t hurt.

I pulled into the student parking lot only to find that there weren’t any spots left. I finally found one and stumbled out of the car, only to send my refreshing slush flying into the air and splashing all over the parking lot. My reaction was, “This is going to be the worst day ever!” Little did I know, at approximately 5 p.m. that same day, I was going to be involved in a serious car accident that nearly took my life. That morning was the last thing I would remember when I awoke from an induced coma over three months later.

The accident left me with second, third and fourth degree burns on 70 percent of my body. I ended up having both feet amputated below the knee, along with the fingers on my right hand, and I underwent 36 surgeries in less than 10 months.

The cost of my care has been estimated at more than $7 million, and while under the care of the Shriners Hospitals my family never had to pay for a thing. My entire family is grateful for all the care I received. About a year after my accident, we began raising funds for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, and we have had many opportunities to speak on behalf of the hospital system. I also speak on behalf of the Phoenix Society for burn survivors. This organization helps survivors and their families cope with and overcome the difficult challenges encountered after a burn injury.

I now see how fortunate I was to have gotten the best treatment in the world at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and at the Shriners Hospitals for Children — Boston and Springfield.

If you would like to learn more about my story, check out my video slideshow at http://www.fromtragedytotriumph.org/ – it illustrates my entire life in less than seven minutes.

Necklaces are available for purchase for $20 at the hospital by contacting Eileen Watson at (413) 787-2011 or ebwatson@shrinenet.org.

Burn Awareness Week begins February 5, 2012 and will kick-off a year-long educational campaign from Shriners Hospitals for Children®. The 2012 “Be Burn Aware” campaign focuses on teaching children safety tips that will help keep them safe from burn injuries, especially at home.

Most burn injuries occur right at home. Among children under the age of 4 who were treated at the hospital for burns, 65 percent received treatment for scald-related burns. The likely culprit is hot food or water spilled in the kitchen.

Consider these facts:
• Every day, across the U.S., hundreds of children are taken to emergency rooms for treatment of scald burns caused by contact with hot liquids, steam or foods.
• Approximately 65 percent of children under age 4 hospitalized for burn injuries were scalded by hot liquids.
• Approximately 16,000 children under age 5 are treated in U.S. hospitals for scald burns annually.
• Ninety-five percent of scalds occur in residences.
• Fire causes the death of more than 600 children ages 14 and under each year, and injures about 3,000 more.
• Nearly 50 percent of children injured in fires or fire-related incidents are under age 5.
• More than 60 percent of residential fires that cause the death of a child occur in homes without smoke detectors.

Many of these injuries could have been easily prevented. The 2012 campaign, Be Burn Aware, emphasizes the importance of observing basic precautions to keep everyone – especially children – safe at home.

Firefighters, teachers, parents, caregivers and other members of the community are encouraged to participate in the year-long campaign by visiting http://www.burnawareness.org/ for burn prevention and safety tips and information. The new, 2012 materials are available in both English and Spanish.

Recently, members of the Daughters of the Nile, Ahlem Temple, visited Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield, Mass to make a special presentation. Ahlem (Melha spelled backwards) Temple started in 1947, and remains strong today with members actively working to support the hospital in numerous ways.

David Burstein, Esq., Chairman, Springfield Board of Governors, and other members of the board, Phillip Thomas (emeritus chairman), James Spear and Joseph Surprenant greeted the group.  Past Supreme Queen, Eleanor Green had the honor of presenting the crown worn by their first Queen in 1947 to the hospital. The crown was placed on display in the hospital lobby.

Who are the Daughters of the Nile?

The Daughters of the Nile (D.O.N.) is an international, fraternal organization for women who are related by birth or marriage to a Shriner, Master Mason, or Daughter of the Nile. They were founded in 1913 in Seattle, Washington and currently have over 32,000 members in 144 cities throughout the United States and Canada. To date the D.O.N. have contributed over $45 million dollars, making their organization the second biggest contributor to the hospitals, with Shriners International being the top contributor.