A Squamish burn victim is using the power of music to heal.
Sammy Badger, who was badly burned in March this year, is releasing an appropriately titled track ‘Phoenix’ today, under the name Valor Grey.
She will be performing the song on Global Morning News August 24th and at the Music Therapy Ride Festival in Pemberton this Saturday, August 25th.
Her plan is to share any monies that may come from it with the BC Professional Firefighters Burn Fund, and Music Heals. (Click HERE to listen and buy the song)
The Squamish teen was badly burned at a river fire in Squamish when a flammable was thrown into the fire by a teenage boy. The can exploded sending a ball of fire towards Sammy. Her face and hair caught on fire, and her left hand was badly burned as she used it to shield her eyes from the blaze.
“I like my scars. They help me remember everything that I had to go through – they are mine.”
One of the boys at the bonfire acted quickly to drop her into sand and put out the flames, then got her down the treacherous river bank to douse her head and hand in the glacial waters of the Squamish River. After a trying ordeal to get her to Squamish General Hospital, she was taken by ambulance to the Burn and Trauma Unit at VGH. It was uncertain if she would require plastic surgery or skin grafts as the swelling was so intense, according to information provided by her mom, Tamara Stanners.
Sammy went through the excruciating process of debriding (the removal of damaged skin) of her face and hand for three weeks. During her stay at VGH, Sammy was visited by a music therapist named Gemma who played the guitar and sang from behind a curtain while Sam had her first shower after the burn.
Gemma’s music helped Sammy get through the trauma of the pain of the water on her skin and the nurse trying to deal with her burned and melted mass of hair.
Through her swollen and burned lips, Sammy, a lifelong musician and singer, sang a song back to Gemma. Both Gemma and the nurse said that it was the first time a patient had sung to them. It was there at VGH that “Phoenix” was born. Through the bandages, Sammy told her mom that she had the chorus for a song, about a Phoenix rising from the fire.
Although there were complications during the healing process, Sammy’s recovery went better than expected, and surrounded by family and friends she was given the news that she would need no surgeries to repair the burn damage.
Upon returning home to Squamish, the family encouraged Sammy to finish the song that had begun to develop during her time in the hospital, and supported by sister Alex Badger and mother Tamara Stanners they put together a team of musician friends to complete the project.
Produced by JP Maurice (recently seen on CTV’s The Launch) and mixed by Russell Broom, and with help from vocalist Angela Kelman, guitarist Ryan Guldemond of Mother Mother, and drummer Nick Petrowich of Bend Sinsiter, they created a recording of “Phoenix” that captures Sammy’s strength and positi
