Behind the Badge
Eight-year-old Kevin Rivera of Anaheim asked Santa Claus for Pokemon trading cards on Monday night during a Christmas party at the Anaheim Convention Center for special guests like him.
Four years ago, Kevin was admitted to the UC Irvine Health Regional Burn Center for three days after hot soup spilled on his arm. The accident couldn’t have been farther from his mind as he munched on a candy cane at the Dec. 12 event.
Rivera and dozens of other young burn victims visited and took photos with Santa during the Burn Center’s annual Christmas party.
Ronnie Zapeda, 5, high-fives Anaheim Fire & Rescue mascot Capt. D. Tector at Monday’s annual party for burn survivors at the Anaheim Convention Center. Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
Anaheim Fire & Rescue supports the annual party and sent firefighters to escort Santa. The first responders were joined by Capt. D. Tector, the department’s dalmatian mascot, who handed out plastic fire helmets to children.
Besides meeting Santa, children enjoyed decorating candy canes to look like reindeer with pipe-cleaner antlers, eyeball stickers and red noses; making tree ornaments in the shape of gingerbread men; and gluing colored cotton balls onto clothespins to form a fluffy caterpillar.
Chloe Romero, 9, of Corona was 4 when the back of her legs were burned while she walked near a friend’s backyard fire pit. She missed bowling with her Girl Scout troop on Monday to be at the Burn Center’s Christmas party.
Andrea Romero, Chloe’s mother, said attending the annual party is important for their family because it provides an opportunity for them to talk about the emotional scars that accompany her daughter’s burns.
Christian and Diana Miranda pose for a photo with Santa Claus during Monday’s annual party for burn survivors at the Anaheim Convention Center that is supported by Anaheim Fire & Rescue. Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
“I think it’s nice because it gets us talking about the accident,” Andrea Romero said. “She still struggles with it emotionally.”
The Christmas party also allows adult burn survivors an opportunity to talk about their trauma and recovery.
Jeremy Kelner was piloting a single-engine airplane for an aerial photography charter in September 2015 when his plane crashed in Virginia. Doctors gave him a 40 percent chance of surviving the second- and third-degree burns he sustained.
“I was in so much pain I thought I’d rather be dead,” Kelner said.
At the Burn Center’s Christmas party, Kelner showed fellow burn survivors Jonathan Molina and Carlos Frontela Jr. the results of recent surgeries to repair his arms.
Molina said he met Kelner and Frontela through a burn survivor support group and they’ve since become close friends.
The Jollys — Roxana Meyers, left, Brad Nol, Sarah Remley and Nathan Kersey-Wilson — perform at Monday’s annual party for burn survivors. Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
“There’s something to be said about a shared experience that very few people understand,” Molina said. “It’s not like you can talk to anyone about burn injuries. It’s kind of like a very unique family.”
Elsa Covarrubias, community engagement manager with the City of Anaheim, said the annual event is special for burn survivors.
“It allows them, their families and firefighters to interact with one another in a more personal and natural way, beyond the roles and outside the moment of crisis,” Covarrubias said. “By seeing the victory of the story, past the initial trauma, in a fun and celebratory setting, it brings out the depth of our humanity and our interconnectedness.”
Kevin Rivera, 8, attends Monday’s annual party for burn survivors at the Anaheim Convention Center. Kevin was in the burn unit for three days after soup spilled on his arm. Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
Jeremy Kelner talks with members of a support group attending Monday’s annual party for burn survivors at the Anaheim Convention Center. Kelner came from Virginia after burning 60 percent of his body in a plane crash. Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
Jonathan Molina, left, Jeremy Kelner and Carlos Frontela Jr. share stories at Monday’s annual party for burn survivors at the Anaheim Convention Center. Photo by Miguel Vasconcellos
