Carmen loves all things sequins and scales – they remind her of her own chain link patterned scars. She calls herself a mermaid!

When she was three and a half, Carmen suffered catastrophic scalding burns on the lower half of her body.  She was life flighted and spent 70-days in the hospital in Sacramento, where the severe burns on parts of her hands and lower extremities required skin grafts.  After moving to San Diego, Carmen received treatment at the UC San Diego Regional Burn Center, and received garments made specifically for her injuries. Since March, Carmen has begun laser therapy treatments at the Burn Center.

Everyone, especially Carmen, is looking forward to the day when she will be finished with all her surgeries and follow-ups, “hopefully before camp [Beyond the Scars]” her mom says. But life goes on for Carmen, and because she is a resilient child, surrounded by the love of her family and the burn survivor community, she is enjoying birthday parties, trips to the zoo, and, because she is a mermaid, swimming.

Recently, the Burn Institute has supported Carmen and her family with tumbling classes. She has been having a blast and making new friends. Tumbling helps stretch out Carmen’s skin and gives her an opportunity to meet different people

Carmen and her family attend Burn Institute family retreats and events. For mom, these events offer the opportunity for everyone to take a deep breath and feel comfortable sharing their experience because they are surrounded by people with similar stories, and a community dedicated to helping families on the journey to recovery.

Support for burn survivors and their families comes in many forms, but that support begins with you. Please join us in creating a sea of hope for brave souls like Carmen. Every tax-deductible donation helps rewrite their story, transforming scars into scales, and dreams into reality.