My story

This is my story

and the one from many other families I’ve met since the accident.
Every day more and more children arrive at the burns healing center. 
None of the families had done what they should have...
No one really knew what a burn injury was until it happened to them...
Ana María Little Superheroe

Accidents happen... they inevitably happen.

Overcoming them takes team work, not just medical care but also support and strength from the family.

“I discovered that crying is part of the way, that watching your child suffer leaves scars on our souls, but it is definitely love that makes us indestructible”. 
Kids are happy with very little, and there lies the key to moving forward.

Always hang on to the positive side, 
it is the best way to come back stronger than before...

Accidents are very traumatic; we must "transform them into life experiences", it is the only way to move forward.

Our accident happened when filling the fondue burner with alcohol. 
 A combination of factors resulted in flames over my daughter’s t-shirt for about 5 seconds. 

We never imagined that something like this could happen, 

or that our life would change so much ...

If I could only go back in time, if I could switch places with her, if I could give her my skin, If I could...

no doubt I would do it without hesitation, but life doesn’t work this way.

I can only hold her hand and walk next to her, and I hope that no other parent will have to go through anything like this. 

Burns are very difficult to heal; after one month in the hospital Ana María was no longer at serious risk and we were sent to the healing center for children “Romans Ferrari”. There, no matter the age of the child, they share rooms with other injured children while parents stay in another building, or in some cases, go home.
After two months at the center, we started to go home for the weekends, but during the week our family had to break up and we were apart. After 18 months we formally left the center, we now come back for follow ups and renewal of equipment and pressure garments. 

I have met many parents, friends, and children with unbelievable courage during my life in Romans Ferrari.

When we look into eachother’s eyes, we see the strength inside, all that we have gone through, we learn from sharing our stories, from those dark days, from those sleepless nights, and also from those afternoons playing cards in the waiting room…

I see life as the appreciation of simple things that bring joy everyday, a family dinner, a walk in the park, even watching a movie with your family at home.

The center receives children many times over for further treatments, surgeries, and therapies

Skin healing process takes years, children need evolution checkups while they are growing up. Part of the skin treatment is not reimbursed by insurances, it has to be covered by the family.  

Laser treatment is considered an “Aesthetic” treatment and that’s why it is not covered by insurances. 

But, what would you do if you didn’t recognize yourself in the mirror? or your skin had different colors or elasticity? then it is much more than aesthetics; it is about finding your identity and trying to be normal. 

The changes we’ve seen on Ana María after the first laser treatment are amazing, just to think that we can save time, delay or avoid some surgeries, and improve the skin flexibility, it is totally worth the effort. We will do everything we can to find the way to continue her treatment. 

Our wish is to raise awareness and prevent these accidents from occurring!

But… how to prevent burn accidents if you don’t know the risks?

Most burn injured survivors hide from the public eye, they don’t like rejection and they end up isolated.
Sharing these experiences help to create awareness about hazards and risks.

It is important to educate our children about the dangers of burns; clear and simple messages can prevent accidents. Equally, to promote empathy through stories that address issues of accidents and/or disabilities.

The first days after the accident I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t sleep, I knew nothing about what was coming, her body was completely swollen, she couldn’t even open her eyes, and all I could do was wait. I researched from the start, but I did not find much hope…


Ana María showed me what a miracle is, the power of our mind and our love.People think a miracle is something supernatural, but miracles happen every day in front of our eyes. A real miracle is to listen to the Doctor say: “we’ll do the first graft on Monday because there are dead zones already and she will not regenerate anymore”on a Friday afternoon, and after a weekend full of family visits, union and love, Monday morning The Doctor walked out of the operating room 15min later, to tell me: "Mrs. Cruz, we're not going to operate, it's incredible, but her whole body is regenerating again...”

No one really knows the depths of our mind, our body nor our energy. There are too many inexplicable things, that is why from that day on, I always tell her: “you have such a powerful mind, every day you are getting better, you are my regenerating machine”

My daughter is my favorite little superheroine, she's the strongest and the bravest girl I know. As parents, we are invincible for our children, 
but they are much stronger than us; 
the world we describe to them, in which they fight, is in our own mind.

As friends or relatives of people who have suffered an accident, I would recommend giving personal support, being present for those affected, not asking What can I do for you? or do you want me to come and see you? I assure you that all we need is time and affection. 
In those moments, we do not have the mind or the strength to ask for anything, but the hugs, the gestures, the company, give a lot of energy.

I hope my story brings a little bit of light to other families going through something similar and that looking at Ana María’s evolution they will find hope and strength to go on in this long process. 
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