Why I Started Life After Burns
In 2020, in the early months of the pandemic, I was out of work (event planning), and back to the drawing board.
In the middle of April, I came across a guided meditation. The lovely fellow in the screen told me to close my eyes, and guided me to go back to my childhood home, and meet my younger self. He asked me to say what I would tell my younger self. I proceeded to hug my younger self tightly, and tell her “You will be okay, you will figure it out.” That is exactly the moment when the tears started flowing. I opened my eyes, and I realized what I had to do. I had to work with burn survivors. It came to me that with my very personal experience of burns and trauma, I could provide valuable help to those that have gone through a similar experience.
I got to work. I began volunteering with a hospice, I got a job working with elderly folks, and these led me to some really awesome people. I was considering becoming a social worker so I wanted to gain experience and confidence working directly with others, especially those grieving.
After mainly focusing on my career path and my exterior world, I realized that I should probably join a group myself, to see where I was at personally and if I was truly ready to help others, my interior world. To my surprise, I could not find any support in the greater Toronto area. I had to look further. I ended up finding 3 groups, Canadian Burn Survivors Community, Mamingway (Winnipeg), and Arizona Burn Foundation. Because of the pandemic, these groups turned to online Zoom meetings. This was actually beneficial because I was able to find these groups easier.
I met many great people, and finally felt at home, I was finally thriving and learning. But there was this dreaded question which was looming over my head - What was I going to do when life returns to in person meetings? Even if these organizations continue online meetings, I want to have a community closer to me. And surely, there must be more burn survivors such as myself in the GTA who are looking for support right?
The next months consisted of getting connected with those working within burn units in the GTA, those working in other burn communities, and burn survivors. It quickly became clear that there was a lack of resources in this region. So not being confined to rules, I could run with ideas that came to me, and create a community in a more flexible way, my way.
Truthfully, I didn’t expect to start Life After Burns. I didn’t originally set out to do this as my aim was to work in a burn unit. I just realized that starting something where I could bring together the community and create a place where individuals like myself and their families could find the resources they need and personally connect with others in the community would be beneficial.
The aim of Life After Burns is to provide support once survivors are discharged from the hospital. I hope Life After Burns will be for others what I wish my family and I would’ve had when we left the hospital.
