ESTES PARK, Colo. — For plenty of kids, fitting in is a big part of kicking off 8th grade, but that won't be easy for 14-year-old Da'Mon Mays.
"March 11. That was the day I got burned," he said.
Since then, he hasn't been back to school. When he gets back to Columbus, Ohio from his week-long vacation in Estes Park, kids will probably want to ask about his scars. But, for now, he's on vacation - a special one, and fitting in isn't a problem.
Mays is camping in the mountains at the Cheley Children's Hospital Burn Camp. The decades-old camp is hosting 75 burn survivors from across the country and even a couple of kids from Russia this year.
Mays was learning to ride a horse Wednesday morning.
"The only thing I don't like about it is like the whole sand is like poop," he said. "The riding part is fun."
Trudy Boulter directs the Children's Hospital Burn Camps Program. She says her goal is to make sure that every kid who sustained a burn injury can be whoever they want.
"Their story does not have to begin or end because they had a burn injury," she said. "This is just a part of their life."
Families who send their kids here aren't asked to pay anything; according to Boulder, it's all funded through donations. Aside from horseback riding, kids can rock climb, learn Riflery and Archery, work on art projects and go on a three-day out-camping excursion.
"While they're here we help them tell their story until they have a story they're proud of," Boulter said.
For more information on the camp, check out their website.
