More than a year after she was burned at a bonfire in Brackendale, Sammy Badger still has some scars — and she doesn’t want them to go away.
Since the incident in March 2018, Badger has never shied away from sharing her story. Strangers, often kids, will ask her about her scars. Many will then tell her she can get rid of them.
The teen doesn’t mind the questions or the comments, but she also doesn’t feel the need to get rid of her scars.
“I kind of like them,” she said. “It's weird. I kind of want to be able to know that I went through that as a story.”
Shortly after coming home from the hospital last year, Badger put that story to music, by writing and releasing “Phoenix,” a song that recalls her rising from the ashes. Many have heard it on the local radio station, and it’s reached listeners as far as the States.
“Someone from Portland who was burnt a month after me reached out because she was so inspired, and she knew she could get over her burns, not worry too much about scarring and feel much better about the aftermath,” Badger said.
Now, she’s sharing her story again to support the Hometown Heroes Lottery. Badger knows the fundraiser not only for its contributions to the Vancouver General Hospital — where she was treated for more than a week in 2018 — and UBC Hospital Foundation and Burn Fund, but her mother, Tamara Stanners, used to appear in the lottery’s commercials. It Badger’s turn to do her part.
“Each ticket purchase has a direct impact on patients and enables us be able to put the most advanced medical tools into the hands of our talented medical teams, ensuring that VGH remains at the forefront of specialized care for adults in BC,” Barbara Grantham, President & CEO, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, said in a press release.
Tickets for the lottery are available at www.heroeslottery.com, where a list of the grand prizes can be seen. The proceeds will go toward research, lifesaving equipment, treatment and the annual Burn Camp for young burn survivors.
“I feel like it's a good thing for burn patients to hear that someone who has also been affected by burns, feels comfortable with their scars. You don't always have to get rid of our scars, you don't always have to be comfortable with them either,” Badger said. “I think it's good for people to hear you'll get through the hard part of the burn, get out of if probably better than you were before. Stronger.”
