Making Lemonade: Encouraging Children to Give Back After a Burn Injury
Written by Amber Wilcox on October 17, 2022
You may have heard the saying, "when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade." This phrase is meant to encourage optimism when facing life's complex challenges. It represents the concept that when you find life turning sour, embrace life in front of you to help turn it into a delightful, refreshing drink. Lemons are no different than lemonade—it's all in the outlook of how you look at them.
About the Czerniejewski's
For Cadence Czerniejewski, a 9-year-old burn survivor from Buffalo, New York, making lemonade was a way to give back and generate funds for her fellow burn survivors at Shriner's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Cadence and her sisters Kennedy (9), Madison (8), and Aria (4) were making smores over a small fire bowl when a bottle of rubbing alcohol was knocked over as fire exploded onto the four children. Kennedy, twin sister to Cadence, quickly sprang into action, helping to put out the fire on her sister Ariel before grabbing her mom's phone to call 9-1-1. Although Kennedy escaped the fire, her sisters Madison and Ariel received minor burns, while Cadence experienced life-threatening burns over 50% of her body in the third and fourth degrees.
Cadence spent two weeks at Strong Memorial Burn Center, having a skin graft surgery before being transferred to Shriner's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, for a second surgery.
As a single mom of four, Angie Czerniejewski experienced what she describes as one of the worst things she's ever had to endure. We sat down with Angie and her girls to talk more about their experiences, inspiration for the lemonade stand and to learn more about Angie's experience as the primary caregiver for her girls.
Can you tell us about your lemonade stand to help other burn survivors, Cadence?
When I was in the hospital, my mom and dad would buy me squishmallows from the gift store, and I liked to put them on my feet or behind my neck because they were so soft to touch. I thought that we could get them for the kids in the hospital so they could also get comfort from them. We got a lot of money from the lemonade stand, so I wanted to buy squishmellows for the hospital.
In addition to your squishmellows, you bought three Kindle fire tablets for the children at Shriners. Do you want to tell us about that, Angie?
Yes, Madison and Cadence were both treated at Shriner's. When we went back for a follow-up, we brought them Kindle Tablets. Her hands were wrapped when she was doing her physical therapy at Shriner's, and when child life came to raise her spirits, she couldn't hold a cup or feed herself. The child life services team had one of those piano apps on the tablet, and it was terrific, even when she could only move one finger. We donated them because someone had brought us a tablet when we were in Boston. It was an excellent opportunity to watch Netflix. Especially if burn survivors can't use their hands, they can have an app or something to watch.
Cadence, what do you like to watch on your tablets?
I like Moana and Zootopia.
Do you want to share a bit about what inspired you to give back to Shriner's Hospital in Boston?
The team at Shriner's was like our family. I had never been in a situation like this before. They took care of everything, and I didn't have to think of anything else but care. The team [at Shriner's Boston] was compassionate and caring. While I was at bedside with Cadence for over a month, I had three children at home. At the hospital, everyone told me [what to expect] every step of the way. They told us our goals and what we were doing tomorrow and explained what we would do to meet our goals.
We walked out of there, and she was feeding herself! It was unbelievable what we were able to do with her care. If they told me she would walk again, I wasn't hopeful.
In the hospital, if you're feeling down, just remember that you can do it and remember that you can never give up.
—Cadence, 9-Year Old Burn Survivor
What hobbies do you do for fun today, Cadence?
I like playing the violin, cheerleading, gymnastics, and drawing.
Why is it important to your family to help other burn survivors in the hospital?
Even bedside, doing physical therapy, Cadence wanted to help other children. We heard other kids on our floor, and we saw babies. I think it struck a different cord when we were in our room and would listen to a baby cry. She [Cadence] would ask what they were here for, and I would explain that they were burned and the hospital was there to help other children like her. We began to think about our children and if our younger family members would have to experience this. That's when we started to spiral and think of other ideas to give back.
Cadence has a very kind heart, and we prayed a lot. We're Catholic and very close to God, so we had this experience with a higher power.
What advice might you give other parents experiencing recovery with a child burn survivor?
Oh my gosh, it was the worst thing I've ever gone through. Many of our community contacted us because it was a very relatable accident. Our accident could have happened to anyone—and many people mentioned that they also made s'mores the same way. I am a self-proclaimed helicopter mom, and all I can say is—you have to be strong. I saw the fear in her (Cadence) eyes every day at her bedside, and I didn't have time to be scared. I knew I had to be strong for her—but I also knew I would have time to decompress after I knew she was okay.
For parents, you have to be strong in your child's eyes. With all the medical terms and the things you're going through, your child wants to see a familiar face and a smile. That's all you can do because, as a parent, you don't know what will happen either.
As a mom, why is it important to you to give back?
The community we live in—the outpouring of love and support was overwhelming. I didn't even know what was going on at home for weeks. Cadence was given a website, a Facebook page, and more. Cadence was on life support for days, and the support was coming in by the hundreds. As a very private person, I thought at first, "Oh my gosh, take it down; we don't need this; I'm going to go crawl into my cave." It was very overwhelming for me.
After Cadence woke up and we were doing treatments, we would sit together and read all those posts at the bedside after a tough day of treatments and therapy. We would wind down and read them all, and Cadence asked me, "Who are all these people?". I would say, "they're just people that care." To see thousands of people caring—I wanted to share as a mom, giving back was a sweet part of the end of our story. We're doing good now because of our community's support and prayers.
Being able to go someplace like Phoenix Society or another online forum to read similar stories, it is amazing to read others' stories that are relatable to our own—otherwise, you'd feel so isolated.
What do you do as a mom to help support Cadence by sharing her story?
I take her lead; it's uncharted territory for us. I support her 100%. For example, she wears her compression garments and wants to wear her sports athletic gear for cheerleading. Although I'd been trying to get her to wear a bathing suit all summer, she didn't want to do that. However, a few weeks ago, she shared with us that she wanted to go to her cheerleading and show her scars. Needless to say, I let her go at her own pace. We talk about her scars and do our check-ins during her burn treatments. Together, we look at her scars, and she'll point out to me what looks better. She enjoys the physical confirmation that she is healing.
Our team at Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors can provide support and resources to families and loved ones after a burn injury. For young children, check out our book, Sara’s Steps, can provide support for child burn survivors on the return back to school.