BURN SAFETY

University of Utah’s Burn Center Annual Statistics Number of Inpatients Average Burn Size % TBSA Children % Out of State Referrals % Number of Outpatients Visits……..5000

A Dragon ’ s Tale Storybook by: Sandee Oliver RN Illustrated by: Glenn Denna Edited by: Marilyn Groussman, MSW Story Adaptation by: Michele Winterbottom RN

This story is about Tyler, he is going to tell you about his burn!

Hi, I’m Tyler Dragon and I’m seven. I’ve been waiting for it to be warm enough to play outside all winter.

This is Sally, my three year old sister. I’m going to take her for a ride in our dragon wagon.

Ouch! I burned myself. I can’t help crying, it HURTS!

These are a few ways that I may have been burned. How do you think I got burned?

The stove is very hot. Be careful to never touch the top of the stove even if it is not on. Also, do not touch pots that have been on the stove. Do you think I burned myself on the stove?

The oven gets very hot on the inside and the outside when an adult cooks in it. Make sure to never touch the oven or play around it. Do you think I burned myself on the oven?

Matches and lighters are used to start campfires and light grills. Make sure you never touch lighters and matches. If you see them lying around tell an adult but never ever touch them. Do you think I burned myself with matches or a lighter?

You may have gasoline in your garage or shed. It is used to run things like the lawn mower and the spin trimmer. NEVER TOUCH GAS!! You can get a burn even if you get it on your skin or clothes. Some kids think it is okay to play with gas. It is NOT. Do you think I played with gas?

Hot water is the number one way for children to get burned. It is really important to check the water before you get in the bathtub to make sure it is not too hot. Hot water can burn kids in seconds. Ask your parent to check and make sure that the hot water heater is set on low so you don’t get hurt from too hot of water. Was our water too hot?

Another way children are burned is in house fires. How many of you have a Fire Escape Plan?

Your Fire Escape Plan should include the following- Two escape routes Your family should practice the escape routes during a fire drill. If you are in a fire keep low to the floor and crawl under the smoke to the nearest door or window. Touch the door before you open it. If it is warm the fire could be on the other side and you need to find a different exit. Cover your mouth and nose so you don’t breath in the smoke. Go to an outside family meeting place. Never go back inside a burning building.

Do you think I was burned in a House fire? No, I am a Dragon and I am allergic to spring flowers and when I sneezed I blew fire from my nose. Can you do that?

Mom could tell I was hurt bad so she rushed me to the hospital.

When we got into the Emergency Department I was rushed past the admitting desk into an exam room.

My chest was bright red and it hurt. My hands and arms were burned, too. They didn’t hurt as bad, though.

The doctors and nurses washed my burned skin. Then they put on some white fluffy cream. It felt like I was a cake being frosted. Then they wrapped my burned skin with gauze dressings to hold the cream in place.

They told me that it would be important to keep my burns clean. There are Bacteria, which are little bugs that cause infection that we must keep away from my burns.

They said that I would be taking a lot of baths in the big bathtub in the Burn Unit and that would help my burns heal more quickly.

I was taken to the Burn Unit. The hospital bed was different then mine at home. My body was leaking from all of my burns so they had to give me IV fluids to replace the leaking.

In the morning for breakfast I set up in a chair. I didn’t feel hungry but the nurse said it was important to eat lots of food so I could heal faster. I ate a short stack of pancakes, bacon, eggs, a bagel, milk and orange juice.

I could hardly wait for my family to visit. I missed them a lot. I told Sally that I was feeling much better. She said if I was feeling better then I should come home with her now. I told her I had to stay in the hospital a while longer because some of my burns would not heal without surgery.

The next morning the doctor who would help me sleep during my surgery came and talked to me. He said that my tummy would get sick if I ate before my surgery. The doctors and nurses moved me into the operating room. They put a mask over my nose and mouth. I tried to stay awake but I became very sleepy.

I woke up later that day in my room. I still felt sleepy. I had different bandages on my hands then before. They had taken my sick burned skin off and put new skin on. They had gotten the new skin from my tail. My tail felt like the time I scraped it on the sidewalk. The nurses told me it was very important to lie still so my skin could grow. I think it’s like planting a flower and letting the roots grow.

A few days later I finally got out of bed for the first time. I was so happy to be up. I went to Physical Therapy. They taught me exercises to keep my hands easy to move.

My new skin was not the dragon color it had been before I got burned. It was red and pink and had bumps and lumps. I wondered if it was going to stay that way. The doctor said it would take time to change back to dragon color.

The physical therapist measured the parts of my body that had healed. They dressed me in new clothes they had made just for me. They were called pressure garments. I wore these under my regular clothes. I kept them on all the time except when I took a bath. They were stretchy and fit tight. They pressed my new skin flat as it healed so it wouldn’t be lumpy and bumpy.

The day that I had been waiting for finally arrived. I was going home! I couldn’t wait to see my house, my family and my friends.

I was home at my very own house. It had not changed, but I had. My chest, hands and tail had healed but were still lumpy and different colors. Would my friends know me? Would they still be my friends? I was sad and just wanted to be alone.

I walked into my bedroom and plopped down on my bed. I buried my face under my pillow. Finally, I lifted my pillow from my face and looked across the room. On the dresser was the jar where my fish and pollywog lived.

But there was something different about my pets. My fish was still swimming around, but my pollywog had changed. He had grown into a frog. He was still my friend, he just looked different and that was okay with me. I felt better already.

I ran outside and jumped on my bike, everything looked better in the world to me.

This is a picture of a little boy doing physical therapy like Tyler had to do.

These little kids have to wear pressure garments to keep their skin from being lumpy and bumpy. The pressure garments are called “jobst”. Lots of people think that they have to wear them so nobody sees their burn or because they look scary. We know that isn’t true.

These kids also need lots of love. If their parents are not able to be there the nurses hold and love them just as if they were their own.

This is the burn team. It consists of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, health care assistants, social workers, nutritionists, and many others. Thank you for letting us share our message of burn prevention and our story of Tyler.