“I was burned when I was four years old when I lived in Mexico. My older brother’s were making a fire when a hose with gasoline caught on fire, they got scared and threw it up in the air and I was near by and it landed on me. I didn’t know about stop, drop, and roll so my first instinct was to run around in circles with my brother’s running after me trying to turn off the fire. My parents were gone for about 10 mins (which was when this happened) so my neighbor ran over with water and put out the fire. My parents arrived home after the incident to only see me with my body burned and my clothes gone. I was taken to the hospital immediately by my dad but the equipment that the hospitals had in Mexico weren’t good enough to keep me alive. I was then transferred to the border in an ambulance and taken to Shriners Hospital in Sacramento on a helicopter. I have had many surgeries, too many to count, these past 18 years at Shriners. My parents drove me from San Diego to Sacramento every time I needed surgeries or consults. I have an amazing support team at home with my family but that is all I ever thought I had. I didn’t know anybody with the same story as me could relate until I started going to the summer camps with AARBF and now the events throughout the year. Thanks to the friends I made and the people I met, I got connected with Phoenix Society WBC and I never thought I would ever be a part of something so amazing. I have learned that I have people that support me and will always be there for me. I gained a second incredible support system through my burn family and I would never change anything from my story.”