Local News

Former pediatric burn unit patients from UPMC Mercy head to sleep-away camp

June 17, 2022 / 5:20 AM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh

Burn patients from UPMC Mercy head to sleep-away camp

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Former patients at UPMC Mercy's burn center are headed to sleep-away camp.

The kids loaded up on Thursday morning for the trip.

Those kids also got backpacks loaded with snacks and more.

Parents and organizers said it's great for the kids to be around others who have been through similar challenges.

"Nobody judges you, everybody's been through the same thing, and nobody looks at you funny because of your scars," said Christina Booher one of the mothers of the campers. "She's really just going to have fun but not be alone because she's the only burn survivor in her school."

The campers will also be able to be mentors for others who suffer from burns.

UPMC

Patrick Damp

Patrick Damp is a web producer for CBS Pittsburgh. A Pittsburgh native who grew up watching KDKA-TV, Patrick studied journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After half a decade in sports communication, Patrick decided to pursue his dream of working in journalism in his hometown and joined the CBS Pittsburgh team in 2019.