Burn Survivors Gather for Support--and to Give Thanks

GARDEN GROVE —  The picnic at the Elks Lodge on Saturday was for burn survivors, not victims.

The difference, organizers said, is that burn survivors no longer consider themselves victims of their disfiguring injuries and are moving on with their lives.

The 11th annual Orange County Burn Assn. picnic, attended by almost 150 people, was part of that survival process.

“They came here to see other people that have suffered and that it’s OK,” said association President Anne Delgadillo, who said the event also serves to encourage others that “they can go on” after tragedy strikes.

Saturday’s picnic was not only for those who had suffered burns. Relatives and family members also compared notes on living with and helping burn survivors.

Victoria Gleason said she is still struggling to deal with the physical and emotional pain after her 2-year-old daughter, Nicole, was burned this year at the beach.

The Anaheim Hills youngster walked into a fire pit full of hot coals that had been hidden by a mound of sand.

“I came, I guess, for emotional support,” Gleason said, choking back tears as she held a sleeping Nicole in her arms. “And to see the people that helped.”

The firefighters, doctors and nurses who work with burn victims also were on hand at the picnic to allow Gleason and others the opportunity to thank them for all they’ve done.

Nurse Sarah East, who works at the UCI Burn Center in Orange, had assisted Nicole Gleason and other burn survivors who attended the picnic.

She said she enjoyed the chance to see former patients moving beyond their injuries.

“When you [first] see them, you get afraid they’re not going to make it,” she said. But seeing them at the picnic, getting on with their lives “makes it all worthwhile.”

Dr. Bruce M. Achauer, director of the UCI Burn Center, said as many as 600 patients are admitted to the center each year. A small number, about a dozen, die as a result of their burns.

He said that cases of serious burns have declined over the years with improved safety standards and awareness.

But picnic organizers noted that many burn cases are preventable through greater awareness. Children account for about 75% of all burn victims, they said.

One of the burn survivors at Saturday’s picnic was Cheryl Bess, who was burned with sulfuric acid during an attempted rape 13 years ago.

Bess, who sang at the picnic, said she has been to more than half a dozen burn association picnics over the years and enjoys the chance to be in a casual setting with her doctors and therapists and just have fun.

But Bess also had a message for other burn survivors who are in the early stages of the recovery process.

“I can tell them a little bit of my experience,” Bess said, “and let them know that it will get better.”