Every year, during the last week in June, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Mercy Hospital hosts Camp Susquehanna — a free 4-day summer camp for children ages 7-17 who have suffered severe burns.
Jenny Ziembicki, MD, McGowan affiliated faculty, is the Medical Director of the Burn Center at UPMC Mercy.
“This is a chance for these kids to just be kids,” said Dr. Ziembicki. “Burns aren’t just physically painful — they can change the way you see yourself and the way other people see you. This is a great opportunity for kids to spend time with other kids who’ve been through the same thing.”
The camp offers fun physical activities, as well as a program to build self-esteem, promote social networking, teach responsibility and coping skills, and increase public awareness.
In an interview with WPXI, Dr. Ziembicki noted, “The burn survivors, really…it’s a unique bond that they have. They have shared experiences,” she continued. “They can talk to each other. This camp really allows them to go, have fun, and kind of forget about everything else.”
Camp staff includes adult burn survivors as well as healthcare professionals.
One camper, Lyla Booher, 10, was burned by a spilled pot of coffee across 26% of her body when she was just two years old. She’s attended Mercy’s summer camp now for several years.
Not only does she get to spend time with 50 other children from across Pennsylvania, her mother, Christina Booher, said in an interview with Yahoo!News, but Lyla “went from not looking at herself in the mirror to being very proud of her scars and who she is.”
Each year, stated her mother, Lyla “returns home even more confident and ready to take on anything the future holds.
The camp is sponsored by the Burn Prevention Network and other fundraising activities.
To read more about Survivors Camp in the local news, click the following links for WPXI, Yahoo!News, and CBS/KDKA.
