Summer Picnic at Regions Hospital!

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Regions Hospital Burn Center. I was thrilled to accept the invitation to participate in a summer picnic, which was hosted by the Austin Fire Department and members of the burn center team. Fortunately, after several days of continuous rain, the sun decided to shine just an hour before the party began as it was held in the outside courtyard.

It was fun to mingle with some familiar faces, to meet some new members of the burn community, and to enjoy a good old grilled burger, prepared by some generous firefighters. The children were able to play some games, my Maltese Tonka shared a few kisses, and I was able to share some hugs with people I cherish.
Here are several photos to capture a lovely evening in honor of a place I once called home:

Dr. Tari Gonzaga and Lyle Sathoff 

This little one, named Tori, loved the cookies! 

With a dear friend Sheryl Ramstad and her husband Lee Larson  

Tonka adored Lili  

Candyce was in charge of the nurses when Lyle and I were both patients in 2009 and 1994 respectively 

Daughter and Son of a brave firefighter 

My very best to Regions Hospital Burn Center and the incredible Burn Team,

Sarah Bazey
Mrs. International 2012

Regions Hospital Holiday Party

I told the audience that I felt like I was “home”…and when I enter the doors to Regions Hospital in some ways that is exactly how I feel. You see, for burn patients we experience a loss of many things; skin, decorum, privacy, and control. We are forced to trust the burn team with every aspect of our lives from food and water, bodily functions, our schedule, who we can and cannot see, they manage our pain to the best of their ability and they torture us to heal us…

This may sound a bit morbid and depressing, but when you occupy a bed in a burn center this is your reality and you no longer care about the normal stuff; when can I get to the grocery store, did I sign that contract on my desk at the office, did I take the laundry out of the dryer, will my spouse be up for a movie tonight…the only things that run through your mind are; how can I survive this pain, when is my next surgery, do I have to have the heparin shot in my belly again (every 8 hours for 50 days), can I calm my heart as it is beating at 185 while I am trying to rest, will they pull more staples out of me in the tub today…these thoughts consume you 24 hours a day because there is no morning, noon, or night to a critical patient.

Because of this experience, you become dependent on the individuals who sustain you and control your life. A burn center becomes your whole world; where you are safe, secure, no one stares, and you know you owe your life to the people around you. Leaving a burn center and your burn team is scary and often a very uncomfortable time in the recovery process.

When Mikki Rothbauer, Social Worker for our burn center asked me to speak at the annual Holiday Party in the atrium of the hospital, I did not hesitate to accept. These are my people, my family if you will, and it was a special evening to be able to share with them my new role as Mrs. International 2012 and remind us all that we are survivors and blessed to be alive!

Mikki, Lily & Me

Thank you to Mikki for the invitation, the Minnesota Professional Firefighters Association and Regions Hospital Burn Center for hosting the wonderful holiday party! Also, my appreciation goes to the children who smiled for the camera with me…and especially to my SOAR buddy Hamida shown below.

With Stephanie and her Mother

Morgan, Abby, and me

 

Hamida and me

Teria and me

With love and appreciation,

Sarah Bazey
Mrs. International 2012

Regions Reception

For the readers of this blog, if you had a few minutes to check out the link from my previous post, you know that Regions Hospital Burn Center completed an educational and promotional video to draw burn patients from smaller regional hospitals that do not have the specialized equipment or personnel necessary to become a certified burn center. I was asked to participate in the video and was ultimately selected as the example of a survivor to help narrate and “tell the story.”

The day of the release, I was invited to attend a reception. It was an interesting experience to walk into a hotel and have strangers recognize me from a production that I had not yet seen, and speak to me as though we were acquainted. Fortunately, one such individual greeted me and shared that he was moved by the video; because he was there…the day I was burned.

The afternoon of the helicopter crash, for which the anniversary is drawing near, this gentleman named Mark Johnston was a rookie firefighter with less than a year on the job. He recalled for me what it was like getting the call of a helicopter explosion and the unbelievable devastation of the crash site when they arrived. Mark went on to tell me he was responsible for putting out the flames, and could not believe he was looking at what was once a helicopter. His close friend was the EMT that placed me on a stretcher and rode with me to the emergency room.  Mark knew that almost 10 years after my accident; I reviewed my medical records and found the name of his good friend. I then called his friend and thanked him for helping to save me life.

Just minutes after my conversation with Mark, I had a chance to connect with other friends from this part of my life and take a couple photos. The first is (left to right) Chris Gilyard a survivor and employee of the Phoenix Society, Candyce Kuehn the Charge Nurse for Regions Burn Center, Steve and Dianne Stubbe survivor volunteers, Mark, and me.

I was also able to snap a shot on the dance floor with one of my burn surgeons, Dr. David Ahrenholz with his wife Jeanne and Chris again.

Life really is about the people we meet and how our lives touch.

Best Wishes,

Sarah Bazey
Mrs. International 2012

Video Release - Regions Hospital Burn Center

When someone is severely burned, they are often cared for initially by a community hospital or medical center that would then refer them to the nearest “Burn Center,” which specializes in the care of burns. Fortunately, because of the location of my accident I was taken directly by ambulance to Regions Hospital Burn Center located in St. Paul, Minnesota, on the afternoon of October 26, 1994.

Prior to that day I had never been hospitalized, broken a bone, or known what it was to experience real pain. Even without previous experience, I knew that I was being given the best care available. The burn team, which is comprised of; doctors, nurses, therapists, social worker, psychiatrist, and even the hospital Chaplin where with me every step of the painful journey. Unfortunately, they often had to inflict more pain on my body than a person should ever have to endure, but they did it with the best of intensions. I often think this is the cruelest part of being burned, as if the event itself is not enough, the road to recovery is comprised of torturous surgeries, therapies, and an emotional roller coaster ride that challenges the strongest of individuals.

Regardless, I want you to know there is a positive and amazing message to be shared, as a burn center is filled with dedicated angels, who do what many could not do, and I will be eternally grateful to each and every member of my burn team for their role in saving my life. Therefore, it was my privilege to be asked to participate in a video for promotion of the burn center, encouraging community care facilities to send their patients to Regions.

If you would like to view the video, here is the link…and it is my pleasure to share with you that it opens on a current bridge project for which my company is supplying materials to Lunda Construction Company of Black River Falls, Wisconsin:  http://files.bolstercreative.com/regions/burn_center/

Best Wishes,

Sarah Bazey
Mrs. International 2012