Recovery is a slow, painful and continuing process for a Nanaimo boy badly burned just over a year ago.
Daniel Stump, 11, received second and third degree burns to his face, arms and upper body in a Dec. 30, 2010 accident. He later admitted to playing with fire in the family home.
Daniel spent more than a month in hospital, receiving several painful skin graft surgeries, but the severity of his injuries has meant ongoing medical treatments and trauma counselling for the family of six.
Since leaving hospital, he's had to go back for four more surgeries as well as attend numerous physiotherapy, massage therapy and counselling sessions, said his mother Redene Stump.
Daniel's burns still itch and he has to wear special pressure bandages that are uncomfortably tight.
The family pulled through with the help of the community – Coal Tyee Elementary School students, the Nanaimo Professional Firefighters' union and others banded together to help cover medical supplies and some living expenses, as Redene took time off work to care for her son.
Redene said her son, who had another surgery to remove some scar tissue on his stomach and break up scar tissue on his neck last week, is healing well and working to accept his new reality.
"It's changed the way he looks at life, other people, hardships," she said. "He'll look at pictures and sometimes he'll get upset. He'll probably need more surgeries in the future. It depends on how he grows. It was hardest for me, besides Daniel. It's hard to watch your child in pain and not be able to do anything about it."
Redene said a turning point for her son – he was depressed and self-conscious about his scars for months after the accident – was attending Burn Camp, a one-week camp funded through the B.C. Burn Fund, last summer.
"He was hibernating, hiding from everyone," she said. "He came back a lot more confident, knowing he wasn't the only person."
Firefighters want to avoid stories like these and will be heading schools and daycares during Burn Awareness Week (Feb. 5-11) to educate children and their families about the potential for burn injuries.
Greg Finstad, Nanaimo Professional Firefighters union's local representative for the B.C. Burn Fund, said this year's theme is "Matches and Lighters are Tools, not Toys."
"We want to teach kids to be responsible for their own safety," said Finstad. "The majority of burns to kids are in their own homes."
Scalds are the No. 1 cause of burn injuries to kids and children sustain severe burns at lower temperatures and in less time than adults because their skin is thinner.
Firefighters have lined up talks at several daycare facilities and half a dozen schools. The presentations will go over different dangers in the home, what to do if their clothes catch on fire and basic first aid.
Burn injuries are painful, require a lot of rehabilitation work and dealing with these types of calls can be traumatic for firefighters as well, said Finstad.
In Daniel's case, Finstad said the B.C. Burn Fund and community members have contributed thousands of dollars to help pay medical costs, as well as helping the family out with travel costs and groceries.
Firefighters also took Daniel several times to do fun activities, such as rock climbing, that encourage him to stay active – important to help him heal.
"He's a great kid, so we've just been working with him," he said. "It's just the right thing to do."
For more information about Burn Awareness Week, including the poster contest and curriculum for teachers, please go to www.burnfund.org.