Milwaukee burn support group helps survivors heal beyond physical scars

Milwaukee burn support group helps survivors heal

A Milwaukee burn support group has helped survivors heal emotionally since the 1980s, offering connection and peer support for patients facing life after serious burn injuries.

MILWAUKEE - Surgeries, scars and therapy are often central to recovery for burn victims, but a long-running Milwaukee support group focuses just as much on mental healing.

What we know:

The group began in the 1980s, when a burn survivor and a nurse saw a need to connect survivors and help others better understand life after serious burn injuries. While the people involved have changed over the decades, organizers say the mission has remained the same.

On the third Thursday of every month, Renee Jackson returns to Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital on Milwaukee’s east side — not as a patient, but by choice.

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"We love on each other. We are a family of survivors, and each of us have our own unique story."

Jackson’s connection to the hospital began in 1997. While struggling with drug addiction, she attempted suicide by setting herself on fire. She says a man pushed her down to smother the flames.

Second- and third-degree burns covered about 40% of her body.

"When I actually had to go out in society was the most difficult part of this process. People looking at me being wrapped up. People not understanding, of course."

Big picture view:

The burn support group brings together survivors, advocates and family members, offering space to talk about life after leaving the hospital. The group is coordinated by nurse practitioner Melissa Kersten.

"To be able to come in and know that you're not alone in your journey — is such a powerful thing for someone that is going through something that might be and a lot of times is the worst thing that's ever happened to them," Kersten said. "A lot of firsts get brought up in support group, a lot of fears, a lot of questions."

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For Jackson, those meetings became a turning point.

"Once I got out, coming to the meetings were really a lifesaver as far as building up my self-esteem, beginning to feel good about me," she said.

Her involvement didn’t stop there. Jackson later became certified to offer peer support to other burn survivors and now regularly visits the burn unit to talk with patients facing what she knows can be the hardest moment of their lives.