The Burns Club My Life

I've been called "Voldemort" and "Witch", and stuff.

They call me Baldy, No Hair Freak...

"Oh, look, it's Chicken Skin."

I'm Holly, and I get called horrid names, too.

It's all because we look a bit different. But our bullies don't know what we've been through.

When I was 20 months old, I was badly burned.

There was a fire in our house and I was trapped.

A cigarette lighter caught fire to my pyjamas.

I pulled down the chip pan and it just went all over my head.

I was also burnt by a chip pan.

The scars from my burns have left me with bald patches.

I've decided to show them to you,

but normally, I hide them under my headband.

To try and look like everyone else,

I'm having special surgery to give me more hair.

So people won't call me names.

But whether my surgery works or not,

making friends with other children who have been burnt

will help me change the way I feel about myself.

I live in Manchester with my mum and dad, my sister Jade,

bothers Josh and Alex, as well as our two dogs, Taz and Kato.

In almost every way, I'm just like any other 12-year-old,

but my burn scars do make me look a bit different.

My accident happened at home.

The day of her accident... I was cooking in the kitchen.

Me and my sister ran into the kitchen and we sat on the oven door.

As she did so, she tilted the cooker, and the chip pan

-fell off the cooker.

-The chip pan fell on my head and my arm.

Then I rang her nana. She said to put her in a cold bath, which I did.

I bathed her down in the bath and then we rang for an ambulance.

The ambulance took her to hospital.

They didn't know how badly she'd been burnt,

so it was very scary.

My mum and dad said that I was very lucky to be alive,

because the burns were really bad.

An easy way to understand burns is by thinking of skin

as an onion with lots of layers.

The more serious a burn, the more layers of skin are damaged

and that's when you can become very, very sick.

All I can remember is my family used to come and see me every day

and that I had quite a few operations.

Although it happened a long time ago, you can still see

I had an accident, because my deep burns left me with scars.

The chip pan burned my arm here.

This one reminds me of a key, cos it's shaped like a key.

And I got burned on my head.

Hair can't grow on a scar,

which means I have bald patches on my head.

My scars do bother me.

It's even a big deal for me to show them to you.

Because I look different, people sometimes stare or make fun of me,

so I make sure I always cover my head.

When I go outside, I don't really like people to look at it

because they can say nasty things.

If I put a headband on, people think there's nothing there.

When I first started high school,

I felt happy cos I could meet new people,

but I also felt worried because I knew

that somebody would say something about my head.

People used to say that I had cancer

and that I'm the girl who has bald patches,

and it made me feel angry.

I'm not basically any different to them,

it's just what I look like.

But my three best friends are always there for me.

It makes me sad when people bully her.

I've known you since primary school, so I know what you've been through.

It's sad that people call you names

but they don't know what you've been through or anything about you.

When people pick on you it makes me sad and angry,

because they were upsetting you and I don't like seeing you upset.

You can't learn when people are bullying you,

cos it goes round in your head.

Instead of bullying you to find out about you,

they should just ask. It's not like you bite. Well, you might.

ALL LAUGH

If it happens, I just walk away.

There's no point staying, they'll just say something even meaner.

Being picked on because of how you look

can really knock your confidence,

but there's a place that tries to build it back up.

It's called Burns Camp.

-Are you looking forward to it?

-Yep.

-What are you looking forward to the most?

-Climbing.

-Climbing? What else?

Manchester Fire Service and the same medical team

who've looked after me since the accident

help organise the Burns Camp I'm going to in the Lake District.

Today, I feel happy and excited because it's going to be really fun.

You can be burnt on your face, arm, leg or your head

and nobody will say anything.

They know what everyone's been through so they won't pick on you.

They'll have been through a similar situation.

Who am I meant to sit next to on the coach?

Now we're about to set off, the idea of leaving my mum

suddenly seems really scary.

Make your goodbyes now, then we'll

take the kids down to the coach.

Have a good time and don't be frightened.

When we got here, I felt a bit homesick.

-I miss home.

-If you ever need someone to talk to

all you have to do is come and talk to me.

You're going to be all right.

But as soon as we get going, my nerves are washed away.

Today's better cos I don't feel homesick.

I'm sure we're going to have lots of fun this week.

Yeah!

It goes right up to the ceiling.

I'd give it a go but I think I'd only get halfway.

Climbing makes me feel strong and good about myself.

But what goes up must come down.

Hold on to the rope and let go. Just jump.

SHE SCREAMS

-See.

-That was hard!

It's great to talk to other children who know exactly how I feel.

It can be a huge burn, or can't walk,

or can't raise your arms, you're still all the same inside.

To be treated differently is unfair.

Robert is 14 and he is from Accrington.

When I was four years old,

I accidentally set myself on fire with a cigarette lighter.

I was burned from the top of my neck to the bottom of my chest

and then, like, on my arms.

People used to say, "Oh, look, it's Chicken Skin. It's Freddie Krueger."

And then I'd get into fights.

But after the first Burns Camp, I was probably less angry.

It did change me.

The older ones tell you to do this and that, and when you do it

you don't get bullied as much.

So it's been a lot easier since after Burns Camp.

The best thing about camp is you can meet new people

who've got the same burns as you, or different.

That's Leeah from Liverpool. She's 11 and has scars

just like me, but hers are hidden under her clothes.

When I was seven years old,

I got burned by a boiling hot pan of water...

which was really painful.

I remember when I got into hospital, I had freezing cold tea towels

all over my chest, and it was all blistered and all red.

I had an operation so they could cut the skin off the back of my leg

and then place it onto my chest.

I had about 160 stitches in my chest.

When I see all my mates wearing dresses, it makes me feel left out,

because I can't wear a dress in case it gets sunburned

and I end up back in hospital.

At Burns Camp, it's nice to meet all the different people

who have the same problems as me, like scars in different places.

No-one cares that I have a scar, they just want to be my friend

and they treat me like normal people would.

-I got mine when a chip pan fell on my head.

-Same.

The boy who had an accident just like mine

is 11-year-old Harry who also lives in Manchester.

When I was one-and-a-half, I pulled down the chip pan

and it just went all over my head.

It burnt right here. It's left loads of scars.

People call me names because of my burns.

They call me Baldy, No Hair Freak...

It's just really frustrating.

My burn doesn't affect me.

It's not stopping me from doing dance or anything I love.

Burns Camp helped me a lot.

You meet children who have similar burns to you, which is pretty cool.

What's it like being the only one at school that's been burnt?

-It feels kind of weird.

-Yeah.

Especially in PE when you have to get changed and everyone's watching.

-You're like the odd one out at school.

-Yeah.

-But here you just feel...even.

-Yeah.

I feel more confident, because you know you're not the only one.

Although it's hard to live with scars,

we all believe they have made us stronger.

Sometimes I feel proud of it,

because I'm different to everybody else and I stand out.

My burn doesn't affect me a lot,

it's not stopping me from doing absolutely anything.

I'm disappointed that my burns are where everyone can see them,

but proud that they've probably changed me for the better.

Our burns show we've gone through something really difficult

in our lives, and survived.

So compared to that, gorge walking is easy-peasy.

And what we do is climb over rocks and waterfalls.

Being at Burns Camp helps us take risks,

like splashing camp leader Simon. He splashed me back!

And I got very, very wet.

The water was very, very cold.

ALL SCREAM

The week has flown by and I can't believe it's nearly time to go home.

Now I'm packed. Last sock in.

I've had 100% a good time

and I'm looking forward to come back next year.

But there is one last thing to do.

Each of us has written down a wish to hang on a special tree.

If you all take one of the labels... It'll be somebody else's.

You might be helping somebody else's wish come true.

I wish my burns go away.

Even though we've had a great time here at Burns Camp,

many of us still wish we just looked like everyone else.

That's why I'm going to have surgery which I hope will give me extra hair

to cover up some more of my bald patches.

And I'll be happy because I'm going to be having more hair...

and I want more hair because then I can feel more like everybody else.

Down in Worthing, 14-year-old Stefanie

is having exactly the same surgery as me to give her more hair.

I'm Stephanie. I'm 14 years old.

I'm in Year 10 and in my spare time, I like to play pool with my dad.

I was burnt on my arms, my face and part of my back.

A fire broke out in our house and I was trapped

and there was no way of me getting out.

And then I remember my neighbour rescuing me with my dad.

And I was wrapped in a blanket and then taken to hospital.

And I was really ill and couldn't breathe on my own,

so I had to have a ventilator.

And I had a priest come in to say goodbye to me

and welcome me to heaven.

Like me, Stephanie was a fighter and slowly got better.

I spent ten weeks in hospital and had several skin grafts.

We had to take the skin from my legs

and put it onto my arms and back.

But also like me, she's been bullied just because she looks different.

People are mean because of the way I look, and they stare at me

and they think that I'm some monster or something.

Since Stephanie was a toddler,

she's had loads of operations to help her scars,

including three to give her more hair

using something called a tissue expander.

The tissue expander is like a balloon.

It's put under the skin on our head which is already hairy.

The doctors fill the tissue expander

with sterile water over a couple of months

to stretch it until it gets really, really, really big,

so there is more skin with hair on it.

When it's as big as it can be, the doctors empty the balloon

and then stretch the new hairy skin across some of our bald patches

giving us more hair.

Stephanie's first tissue expander operation

was when she was six years old.

Wow! See, I said our heads get really big.

The second was when she was nine.

Stephanie has just had another operation, and this time

her surgeon has put three tissue expanders under her skin.

My tissue expanders are there, there and over there.

And they're going to get very big, so it should be, like, out here.

So they're going to pull all my good hair forward to the front

and it might give me a fringe.

While Stephanie's balloons are getting bigger and bigger,

I am bracing myself for my very own tissue expander operation.

Like Stephanie, I've had tissue expanders before.

I had my first one when I was four years old,

and I had another two during primary school.

Before I had a tissue expander,

my hair was just a little strip through the middle and then down.

I had one here...

and it's full of hair now.

And now they're putting one here so it covers this side.

I'd like to have lots of hair and not just little bits.

This will be my fourth tissue expander operation.

And this time they're putting in two balloons.

There is a downside, though. Burnt skin is delicate,

so when my tissue expanders are in, I have to be very careful.

And I'm not a fan of being careful.

You know when you have your balloon put in next week,

you won't be able to do that, go jumping off swings.

-Yeah.

-Don't you?

-Yeah.

-And you have to be very careful with it.

-So, hopefully, you'll get a lot more hair.

-Yep!

-What do you think?

-Yeah...

Lots.

It's operation day. I have to get up really early.

So early, even the sun isn't up yet.

Holly, come on. Time to get up. We've got the hospital this morning.

-Come on.

-It's still dark.

Holly?

It's good to have the operation, because I'll have more hair.

And it's bad because...it hurts at first.

OK. So what you having done today, Holly?

-A tissue expander.

-How did you burn yourself?

-A chip pan fell on me.

-When was that?

-When I was 20 months old.

-I bet that hurt. Can you remember?

No, not really. Have you had lots of operations? Yeah.

All ready to go. Yes!

This is Dr Shah. She's been my surgeon since the accident,

and she'll be putting the two tissue expanders under my skin.

I'm going to expand this bit here.

I'm going to try and put one in here and one on that side.

They have to do my hair like this so it doesn't get in the way.

I don't think this style will be catching on, do you?

My hair's horrible.

Ouch!

I'm ready to go to theatre now.

I've never watched myself sleeping before.

Dr Shah draws on my head

so she knows exactly where she's going to put my balloons...

and then cuts the holes in my skin to squeeze them under.

I can't feel a thing.

All I have to do is sleep while Dr Shah works away,

but operation day is always stressful for my mum.

Holly is still in theatre.

I know they look after her and she's in safe hands,

but I'm still really, really nervous when she's down there.

Back in theatre, it's time for the tissue expanders.

Just a valve and that's the tissue expander and a connecting tube.

What we'll be doing is removing the air from the tissue expander.

Once all the air had been squeezed out, Dr Shah tests my balloons

to make sure they work by filling them up with sterile water.

My balloons have passed the test, so it's time to put them under my skin.

In goes one, sewn in snug.

Then another.

Another quick test... and we're done.

-Hi, there.

-Hello.

-Everything's gone OK.

-OK.

I'll see her in the morning and she'll go home.

-See you later.

-Bye.

I am now very relieved to know that it all went well

and she's in Recovery. I'm good now.

I've just woken up and I don't feel very well,

but I'm so glad to see my mum.

Now I'm back home, I'm feeling much better even if I don't look it.

Moving the skin at the top of my head to put the tissue expanders in

has made my eyes all puffy.

When I first came out of the operation I felt sick,

but now I feel better.

While MY balloons are settling in,

Stephanie's may have to come out early.

Yesterday, I found out that one of my tissue expanders

was trying to push through my skin

and I may have to have an operation today, which I'm really scared about.

That afternoon,

Stephanie had to have all three of her balloons removed.

The problem is our burnt skin is so fragile.

When I was told I had to have my tissue expanders out,

I was really upset cos I thought my whole operation was ruined

and I started to cry.

I wanted to be like everyone else,

have different hairstyles and wear my hair up without looking bald.

But after the operation, it didn't all go bad,

I got some of my hair back and it's still growing back now.

Back in Manchester, it's time for me

to start having MY balloons blown up.

We're here so I can have my balloons filled.

-Then my balloons can grow and then I get more hair.

-How are you today?

It's important to have more hair because... I can do more hairstyles.

It will be good, as well, cos...

..people won't call me names.

But now there's a problem with MY tissue expanders.

The wound has just opened up a little bit

so we need to make sure that that heals properly

before we can expand it.

Urgh!

Can you see it? It looks horrible.

The two holes in my head don't hurt, but they need to heal.

So it's time for some dodgy-looking medicine. Looks like poo!

SHE LAUGHS

MONITOR BEEPS

A month later, one of my balloons has to be taken out.

My head felt wet, so we had to go to the A&E.

They saw that it was badly infected

and I had to get one of my balloons out.

Two weeks after having one of my tissue expanders removed,

Dr Shah is checking the remaining one.

And if you expand it too soon,

then the tissue expander will just break through.

It is slow, but in the end, you're going to get there.

And how do you feel about that?

-Good.

-Good.

It's not as fast as I thought it would be,

because when I had the one in last time, they done it really fast,

but they have to be careful in case they stretch the skin too much.

It looks like I won't be getting any more hair any time soon.

So although we've never met before,

I've come all the way to Worthing on the south coast with my mum

to talk to someone who understands exactly how I feel.

-Hiya.

-Hello. Nice to meet you. This is Stephanie.

-This is Holly.

Why is it important to you to have tissue expanders?

Because I'd like to have more hair.

When people called me names, I felt quite angry,

so if I had more hair, they can't call me any more names.

People have called me the Girl With Cancer, Baldy.

I've been called Witch and Monster.

And once, one of my... she WAS my friend,

she called me Voldomort from Harry Potter.

How do you cope when people call you names?

I just let them call me names because I think they're stupid.

Why do you feel it's OK not to wear a headband?

I used to wear hats when I was much younger,

but I took them off after a while. I didn't think it was any different.

People treat us like we're different, but we're not, are we?

I don't think we're any different to anyone else.

We just look a bit different and that's about it.

BOTH LAUGH

Stephanie was inspiring,

because even though she was badly burnt on her head,

she still goes out in public without a headband or anything

to cover her head up.

That made me think that she was brave.

Even when we come to a busy place like this bowling alley,

Stephanie doesn't cover her scars.

And she still has loads of fun.

Yes!

After the chat we had yesterday,

I think, sometimes, I'll take my headband off.

I think you should. You should be proud of who you are.

This weekend, it was rally good talking to Holly about burns

and bullying, because I had someone to talk to

when I was younger, and I hope it really helped her.

When we're back in Manchester, we'll keep in touch with Stephanie,

because she's really strong and she doesn't let anybody put her down.

When I first started my tissue expander adventure,

having more hair seemed like the most important thing in the world,

but since meeting Stephanie,

I've learned not to let my bald patches hold me back.

Especially now I'm 13.

It's my birthday.

Today, I'm having a pamper party.

That's where you get you hair, make-up

and nails done, then you dress up.

HOOTER

Harry, Robert and Leeah from my own special burns club

are coming, and I'm hoping Stephanie will make it from the south coast.

You're gorgeous! Look at your eyelashes!

What do you think? Show your mum.

Surrounded by my friends and family, I think I'm finally ready

to take my headband off in public.

I got my hair and make-up done and it's really fun.

-Hooray! My new friend Stephanie's made it.

-Happy birthday.

-Are you having a nice day?

-Yeah.

-Your hair looks really nice.

-Thanks. How are you?

-I'm good, thank you.

-That's good.

-Stephanie?

-Yes.

-You're going to be next for make-up.

-OK.

Take your coat off and put it over there.

Meeting Stephanie made me realise it doesn't matter

what you look like, it only matters what you're like inside.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

It's really nice.

-Do you like it?

-Yeah.

I'm very proud of you today. You look absolutely beautiful.

-You're not a little girl, any more.

-No.

-No. Make your own decisions.

-I do anyway!

-I know you do!

ALL: Happy birthday, Holly!

It doesn't matter what you look like,

it just matters about your personality, that's who you are.

And it doesn't matter if I don't get hair as quickly as I thought,

because I'm proud of who I am and what I look like.

# Cos you're amazing

# Just the way you are

# And when you smile

# The whole world stops and stares for a while

# Cos, girl, you're amazing

# Just the way you are... #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

# Cos, girl, you're amazing

# Just the way you are. #