Burn Survivors of New England is committed to supporting, empowering, and building active and engaged lives of burn survivors and their families.
We are honored to share messages, stories, and keepsakes from the burn survivors and families we serve. Their heartfelt words, artwork, and reflections highlight the power of connection, support, and hope in their burn recovery journey.
Hello, my name is Michael Patterson, I wanted to take a moment to write this thank you letter and express my sincere gratitude for being able to attend world burn in Kentucky.
As we depart from Kentucky, I am on the plane ride home reflecting on the past few days and all of the wonderful people I met, all of the heartfelt stories and experiences that were shared. It was a very emotional week for myself and many others as the honesty and vulnerability shared touched my heart.
This was my first world burn ever and I can now see why it means so much to the burn community. This was truly an unforgettable experience on many levels.
As a burn survivor for over 30 years and not having known about support like this is a hard reality that myself and many others have to live through. I am still in disbelief that a community like this existed the whole time of my burn recovery.
I heard many things this week, phrases like “We have to do better”. This scholarship I received gave me the opportunity to be a part of community, a community of people that have some of the shared experiences I went through as a 9 year old burn survivor.
I haven’t known many burn survivors over the years, just a couple in passing and have often times over the years felt alone. No one should ever feel alone and knowing that there are many others out there experiencing the same thing and not having the resources or simply being aware of any sort of burn support is truly heartbreaking and is something I now can begin working to help in any way I can.
This scholarship I received wasn’t just for a few days of hotel stays and plane rides, this scholarship has played a pivotal role in my life, my desire and passion to help people. Let me explain further in just what that means to me.
I have always liked helping people and just in the recent year or so I have learned that helping others fills my heart. I have been on a path searching for my place in the world and finding the burn community has helped me in identifying where I need to be. Shared experience is the best kind of peer support so naturally being a burn survivor this was fitting.
I can tell you that after attending this congress has truly been life changing for me as I now have a family that I can count on as well as being counted on. As I look forward ahead I am excited to learn what lies ahead for me. I know one thing for sure, that I will be attending the next world burn congress in Grand Rapids Michigan.
As someone who doesn’t take (For lack of better words) “Handouts” it was difficult for me to accept this very generous opportunity. I am learning that I too am deserving and I too can receive. I believe in reciprocity, (What do you give back for what you have received).
When I think about “We need to do better” there’s so much meaning in that for me. We is a key part of the phrase, I’ve never considered myself one to sit on the sidelines while watching everyone else do the work. I am thinking of impactful ways I can contribute to the burn community whether that be peer support, facilitator roles, offering rides, attending community events, board committees, sharing my story, fundraising and developing a reputation in the burn community as someone who is on the front lines and is always fully involved.
They say helping others is a selfish act and I have had that experience myself.
It is because of the scholarship I received that have opened my eyes to my path ahead. Service work is what truly makes me whole and paying it forward will be the mission. Not accepting the fact that there are other burn survivors out there, kids, that would never know about this incredible community/family.
My sincere heartfelt thank you to all who made it possible for me to attend.
Michael Patterson
To: Members of the Board Burn Survivors of New England (BSONE)
From: John & Diane Mansfield
Date: October 28, 2023
Re: Thank you
We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the BSONE members of the Board, for the monetary donation to pay for three nights hotel stay at the Gaylord Resort and Conference Center while attending the Phoenix Society World Burn Congress in National Harbor, MD, October 3-7, 2023. Without this generous contribution we would have not been able to attend.
It was great to catch up and socialize in person with fellow attendees! Both of us benefitted greatly from listening to the keynote speakers, attending open-mic sessions, and participating in informative workshops that addressed areas of each of our situations and interests.
John is a SOAR member. John benefitted from attending the SOAR workshops held during this Congress. The information John received gave him additional tools to continue educating and networking with others. It is his way of “paying it forward” by sharing and supporting burn survivors (and family members) during different situations of their on-going rehabilitation stages.
We suggest that everyone, regardless of his/her personal experiences or professional background, try to take advantage of attending this Congress at least once. It is truly a life changer!
Sincerely,
Diane & John Mansfield
Dear BSONE,
Thank you for making it possible for our family to be able to attend the World Burn Congress 2016. Words cannot nearly describe what the experience was for us, other than utterly AMAZING!
As a survivor’s spouse it was inspiring to see other survivor spouses and/or families and see that they are making it and are happy with themselves. Coming from a small town away from support it was incredibly beneficial to our children to meet others who have either been in a similar situation or are survivors themselves. It appears that it enabled them to get a better understanding, to realize they aren’t alone, and also to realize there are worse situations out there.
One thing that we really enjoyed about the conferences is that we frequently ran into presenters at other times while were there. Unlike in other situations where presenters are just there to present, they would stop, have conversation and were very warm and friendly. It was completely different than the typical presenters who are paid to be there and don’t care about the personal connection.
Open mic was beneficial to hear other stories and also to see that it is common for it to be difficult to talk about and that sometimes it takes years to fully be able to tell the story. For Chris, he learned that he can tell his story, but that he is not ready to talk about how he is feeling.
When we first arrived at the hotel we were nervous and didn’t know what to expect. After the opening ceremony we felt welcomed and like we belonged. It was the first of many times that our whole family said “This is Amazing!” We continued to feel this way throughout the next few days. At the closing ceremony we absolutely loved the drums, the passing of the flag, and the slide shows. We were really excited to see the slide shows up on the Phoenix Societies Facebook page as it was a great way to show our small hometown community what the burn conference was all about. Since sharing that video we have heard many comments about what a great experience it was, how beneficial it must have been, and how inspiring just the videos alone were.
One of Chris’s favorite presentations was the presentation on how to present and how to tell your story. He found this to be interesting and gained some great tips that he may use in the future if he is ever in the position to tell his story.
Overall it was a life changing experience for us. We cannot express our gratitude enough for our family being able to attend. We hope that in the future we will be able to attend other World Burn Congresses, as we can clearly see how year after year you could gain new insight and experience from this. We look forward to seeing our new friends/family and meeting new ones!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,
Sharon and Chris Ricker
Dear BSONE and Phoenix World Burn Congress Teams,
I am writing today to send a heartfelt thank you for the extremely generous scholarship that allowed my husband Mike (a burn survivor) and myself attend this year’s event.
Although my husband was burned over 30 years ago, we only became aware of BSONE in the last 2 years or so. Obviously neither of us knew exactly what to expect at the WBC but we both left seeing—and more importantly, feeling—the love and positive impact that BSONE and the Congress have on so many burn survivors and their loved ones. It was truly an open space for people to discuss and relate on so many personal stories. From the first-timer’s meeting to the many sessions and speakers we were able to attend, all the way through the final celebration I was amazed by the support that was both given and received by everyone there. Everyone.
This experience gave us time to reflect on the influence one person can have on another—sometimes challenging but also profoundly positive. Becoming part of this community is something I never imagined, yet I am grateful and hopeful as we continue down this road together.
I was able to get to know some of the wonderful people my husband meets with locally, as well as many others from all across the country. We look forward to keeping and building these relationships for years to come.
Thank you again for this opportunity. It was an experience we will carry with us always.
See you all in Grand Rapids 2027!
Warm regards,
Kim Patterson
To: Sponsors and Burn Survivors of New England
Re: Thank you
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