Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Maddi Runge and Celina Rosales have a special bond. The two teenagers met at Tampa General Hospital’s Camp Hopetake four years ago. The camp is a week-long getaway for kids ages 5 through 17 who have suffered from some type of burn. It is here that all campers can act like kids and feel comfortable in their own skin without worrying about being stared at because of their scars.

Celina was scalded by hot water when she was just 2 years old and her skin still shows the scars. Maddi’s scars are from a different kind of burn – a rash caused by an allergic reaction to medication known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome, or SJS. The condition begins as a rash that blisters over causing the epidermis to separate from the dermis. The exposed skin stings like a burn and many sufferers of this life-threatening condition are treated in burn units. The condition also affects the mucous membranes, causing blisters to form on the eyes and internal organs.

More than 2,000 medications have been associated with SJS, most commonly antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicines, and anti-viral drugs. The reaction can occur almost immediately or take weeks or months to develop. There is no knowing who will develop the condition, and it affects people of all ages.

Celina and Maddi’s scars may have caused them embarrassment growing up, but at Camp Hopetake, the scars unite them with other kids who have suffered the same way they have, both physically and emotionally. Sometimes it takes a while for the children to become comfortable, Celina told WFLA-TV, and they “come here covered up showing no skin at all.” But within days, she said, they find a new comfort among kindred spirits.

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