By Kilee Brookbank + Lori Highlander with Jessica Noll

BEAUTIFUL SCARS

Kilee Brookbank was a typical 16 year-old girl in Georgetown Ohio when a fire started in
her childhood home that changed her life forever. In her book, Beautiful Scars, Kilee
takes us through her story as she reflects upon the day and events leading to the fire.
She vividly recalls the strange smell in her bathroom, going to light a candle, the
explosion, and the barks of her beloved dog Digger who led her out of the smoke-filled
house.

After suffering burns on 45% of her body, 20% of which were 3rd degree, Kilee went to
Shriners Hospitals for Children Cincinnati. Here, Kilee underwent painful treatments,
surgeries and rehab therapy. Kilee and her family didn’t know what they would have
done without Shriners and the love, care and support that they received.

The fire changed everything for Kilee and her family. What once was normal and easy
became a challenge as Kilee was suddenly dependent on her parents for what felt like
just about everything. She missed her old life, her hair that she had to shave off, being
able to wear whatever she wanted without her pressure garments, driving herself and
going out with friends without having to worry about things like going back home in time
for her parents to help her bathe, stretch and put on her lotion.

Going back to school was an adjustment, and for a while Kilee felt like everyone was
treating her differently and just wanted to say “hey it’s still me, it’s still Kilee”! Kilee
received amazing support from her community and school and although catching up in
academics was challenging, Kilee did it with flying colors and even made the varsity
soccer team her senior year.

Kilee’s journey is not that of a victim but of a survivor. Kilee was determined not to let
what happened to her define her. Her scars are not who she is, although they are a part
of the person she has become. Kilee was determined to share her story and use what
happened to her and everything she went through to help others. Kilee started a charity
following a media frenzy which led her to guest star on talk shows and even meet Justin
Beber. The Kilee Gives Back Foundation continues to raise money and awareness for
burn survivors by supporting Shriners Hospitals for Children. Kilee didn’t let what
happened to her define her. Her story is filled with struggles, but more importantly hope,
perseverance, strength and bravery which mad her who she is today.
Journal Excerpts of Applies Knowledge:
2/6/19
“In the past I have not had many experiences working with adolescents,
and it has been something that I have been a bit hesitant about. Increasing my
abilities and comfort level to work with adolescents is one of my goals that I wish
to focus on over the course of the semester. This week I had one particular
experience with an adolescent that stuck out to me, to maintain her confidentiality
I will call her K. K is a 17-year-old girl who suffered severe burns several years ago
and recently had surgery. She just learned English 4 years ago and is now very
fluent. K had a very long wait time for her appointment and I was able to wait with
her and chat with her and her grandpa for the majority of the time they were
waiting in the exam room. As an adolescent within Erikson’s identity vs. role
confusion stage, I knew that bringing up topics related to specific activities she
was interested in, peer relationships, school, and plans for the future were topics
that she would likely enjoy discussing. We talk for some time and it was clear that
her and her grandpa were tired from traveling and wanted to be seen by the
doctor. To help establish more of a therapeutic relationship between K and I,
Rebecca suggested that K help teach me some Spanish. This suggestion gave K an
opportunity to take charge in that moment and was empowering in a situation
where she did not have any control, helped to establish a relationship between K
and I, provided opportunities for additional conversation and was an activity that
helped to pass the time. K wrote down some key phrases for me to memorize and
said that she would quiz me when she came back next week. This was an excellent
way to leave this first interaction because it gave us both something to look
forward to upon her next visit and ensured that we would connect again. This was
also an example of the importance that simply being present with a patient can
have on the patient and family, even if you cannot directly do anything to speed
up their wait time or take away the pain they are experiencing. Simply being in the
room with them can make them feel like they have someone on their side and is a
form of support that can be very comforting and memorable.

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 K was one of the patients that Rebecca had been building a therapeutic
relationship with for years. Rebecca was therefore very aware of triggers which
have caused her more stress in the past and how she is best supported through
these different procedures. Prior to going in the room Rebecca prepared me by
telling me a little bit about her, that she can get teary when sutures are removed
and some of her interests, like fashion. K and many of the patients that were in
this week were ‘frequent flyers’ at Shriners and their faces lit up when they saw
Rebecca. Many patients clearly remembered the influence and comfort that
Rebecca had provided them in the past and viewed Rebecca as a safe and
consistent member of the medical team throughout the course of their
treatments. From what I have observed, the role of child life as a member of the
medical team is clearly valued at Shriners. The development and maintenance of
meaningful therapeutic relationships that Rebecca has developed is one of the
many ways that Shriners promotes a safe, therapeutic and healing environment as
a whole.”

2/13/19
“This week I was able to see K again (a 16 year old girl recovering from
surgery) and to continue to build rapport with her. Before she came in I studied
the Spanish terms she gave me to memorize (and that she said she was going to
test me on) and reflected on some of the topics of conversation we had last week.
Because K is an adolescent, her coping strategies greatly vary from the preschool
and school aged populations I most frequently interact with. When K is in
procedures she likes to be engaging in diversional talk and is always making jokes
and sarcastic comments, which are both very common coping strategies for her
developmental stage.
When I was talking with K I kept in mind the importance of trust in building a
therapeutic relationship. To continue building trust I made sure to follow through
with everything I said I would do the week before. This mainly included learning
the Spanish terms, which she gave me an “F” on because I forgot to mention two
of the words. Continuing to give her control and to teach me was another way of
helping her to feel empowered, even in a situation where she has lost a great deal
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of control, normalcy and when she is experiencing pain from dressing changes
and suture removals. As noted in Erikson’s model, identity is central in the
adolescent years. The discovery of identity is often found in what teens can do,
what they plan to do and what they are passionate about.
One of these passions includes soccer and she was a bit sad about her
inability to play in a soccer game this weekend. Even though she won’t be able to
play for a while, I kept asking her about it and she loved sharing how much she
loves the sport and her plans to play in college. Another interest of K’s which is an
important part of her developing identity is fashion. In addition to talking about it,
I took K to the make-up artist that comes in to Shriners to help patients learn to
put on make-up to help cover up scars. K had been to see the makeup artist many
times and loved going. It was another way that she was able to have more control
over her appearance as well as a way of defining her identity. I am currently
reading “Beautiful Scars” by Kilee Brookbank, a teen burn survivor, and am
keeping her story and the unique struggles she faced as a teen during her
recovery in mind when talking to K. A large part of what is focused on in the book
is Kilee not being defined by her scars or what happened to her, but for people to
see her for who she truly is and to be treated like any other teen. I like asking K
about the things she is passionate about because of their importance in her
development of an identity apart from her scars. It’s easy and normal for teen
burn survivors to become very self-conscious of their appearance, and it can be
very difficult to deal with all the stares and comments from others. Encouraging K
and showing interest in what she loves is one of the ways that I am applying Kilee
Brookbank’s book to my interactions with K.”