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Cloud · 07-05-2007, 07:13 PM

So, today is the 5th of July. It is the anniversary of my childhood burn injury. I always get a bit melancholy on this date.

For those of you who may not have heard this story (tho I tell it pretty often) -- I was 7 or 8 years old. For Indpendence Day, my parents had shot off fireworks in our backyard. The following morning (July 5) I went out while my parents were having breakfast and lit a sparkler. I think now that I must have dropped the match on my nylon negligee. This was waaaaay before the days of fire-retardant kids sleepwear, so --

WHOOSH! Up in flames I went.

Nowadays, they teach kids to "stop, drop, and roll." Me, like an idiot, ran around screaming, fanning the flames. My dad had to catch me and throw me in the swimming pool--the huge pool just feet away from me. I still remember being wrapped in a sheet and riding in my parents' car to the hospital. Don't know why they didn't call an ambulance--guess they thought this would be quicker.

So, yeah, I had 3d degree burns covering my entire right-side torso, from my armpit to my hip, including my breast. Months of hospitalization, skin grafts, surgeries all that. Grossness and pain, but I'm over it now. Mostly.

So, no, my personal opinion is--fireworks and kids do not mix.

07-05-2007, 07:13 PM	#9
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	So, today is the 5th of July. It is the anniversary of my childhood burn injury. I always get a bit melancholy on this date. For those of you who may not have heard this story (tho I tell it pretty often) -- I was 7 or 8 years old. For Indpendence Day, my parents had shot off fireworks in our backyard. The following morning (July 5) I went out while my parents were having breakfast and lit a sparkler. I think now that I must have dropped the match on my nylon negligee. This was waaaaay before the days of fire-retardant kids sleepwear, so -- WHOOSH! Up in flames I went. Nowadays, they teach kids to "stop, drop, and roll." Me, like an idiot, ran around screaming, fanning the flames. My dad had to catch me and throw me in the swimming pool--the huge pool just feet away from me. I still remember being wrapped in a sheet and riding in my parents' car to the hospital. Don't know why they didn't call an ambulance--guess they thought this would be quicker. So, yeah, I had 3d degree burns covering my entire right-side torso, from my armpit to my hip, including my breast. Months of hospitalization, skin grafts, surgeries all that. Grossness and pain, but I'm over it now. Mostly. So, no, my personal opinion is--fireworks and kids do not mix. __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"