Every year, 3.2% of South Africa’s population is affected by burns. Sadly, 60% of these cases are children.
This high occurrence of serious burn injuries is largely because of socioeconomic factors like lack of electricity and inadequate housing.
Many major burn incidents are because of shack fires, often caused by paraffin stoves, open fires and candles.
With the coldest time of the year upon us, and a notable rise in South Africa’s load shedding, a spike in the number of burn cases is expected.
To facilitate this critical need for medical care for burn survivors, the Smile Foundation has further extended their burn treatment, which has always made up a sizeable portion of the work that they do.
During National Burns Awareness Month Smile Foundation successfully raised awareness around the seriousness and prevention of burns, in honour of those who have been affected by this national public health problem.
Over and above their memorable burns awareness safety drive their efforts have continued in raising funds to support various projects that will help bring burn expertise and specialised care to children, whose families could not otherwise afford it.
Of the seven burn survivors who underwent surgery during Smile Foundation’s East London Smile Week this May, was 11-month-old, Imbusise, of Qonce.
At seven months of age, she endured excruciatingly painful burns to most of her little body, when a flask of boiling water fell over her.
Since this traumatising incident, she has undergone a series of operations and spent six weeks in ICU.
Both Imbusise and her great aunt, who is also her caregiver, are receiving counselling which has been made possible by the Smile Foundation.
On commenting on Imbusise’s medical case post-surgery, Dr Sarita Pandey shares, “Imbusise suffered deep burns to the dermis, which required skin grafts.
“She will still need more grafting at a later stage. Imbusise had developed subglottic stenosis – a narrowing of the airway below the vocal cords and above the trachea – which is especially common in burn survivors.
Imbusise has a long road ahead of her and once the burns and the contractures are dealt with, her ENT specialist will later perform surgery to expand and repair her airway.
Her next operation will depend on the severity and length of her stenosis and she will have to make use the tracheostomy tube that has been fitted to enable her breathing, for two to three years.
Imbusise’s speech milestones will be delayed. To assist in this regard, we will later provide her with a tracheostomy speech valve.”
Like Imbusise, there are many more children that Smile Foundation endeavours to help, by sponsoring an additional operating theatre list once a month at Greys Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
This will help in grafting up to 80 children per year and alleviate some of the delays in accessing surgery for burn injuries.
To further their efforts to help burn survivors in dire need of the right medical care, the Smile Foundation, through the backing of generous sponsors, is supporting the renovation of the burns unit at Kimberley’s Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital and assisting with the fundraising for the building of the first ever burns unit at Greys Hospital.
On its completion, Greys’ new burns unit aims at being an inspirational institution for training that will encourage more doctors, nurses and other professionals to become part of this sector that is largely lacking in professional resources.
In support of burn survivors and their families affected by the trauma of burns injuries, the Smile Foundation, together with Avela Foundation, also runs U Matter – a parent and peer support group for burn survivors and their families in South Africa.
U Matter creates positive experiences to build self-esteem, inspire dreams and help families heal by way of mothers of burns survivors who share their own stories and offer immense hope.
Burn survivors and their families are also provided with emotional and psychological support by clinical psychologists that Smile Foundation works with on an ongoing basis.
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