Survivor Profile - Janice Sigfusson

More Than One Family

I wish I was a great storywriter but writing this first line seems difficult as I find it hard to write about myself, as many of you might understand. 

My life is full of blessings; married 36 years to my husband Sid, and together we have three wonderful children, two of whom are married along with two young grandsons.  We are a loving and close family and our favourite thing to do is to come together as a family and enjoy just being together and sharing our lives.

For many years, we have a big family get together feast every Sunday at our home.  It is most certainly the highlight of my week!

On September 4, 2001 our family came together for one of our Sunday dinners – this particular Sunday we decided on a crab feast.  This was going to be a real treat as we had caught the crab ourselves. 

As a cook who likes to do lots of preserving and canning of fruit and salmon, I had a big pressure canner on a nearby counter to process the fresh pears from our tree ready to can the next day.  It was right there (oh those decisions we make thinking we will save time!) so I did not need to dig out another big pot.  So I pressed this huge heavy ancient industrial pressure canner into service to boil lots of the freshly caught crab. 

I had the lid set on an angle to hurry the boiling process and the foam from the crab juice somehow made the lid suck shut.  Once that happened the giant pot went into canning mode and pressurized itself.  After 10 minutes were up, not realizing the circumstances of the sealed lid, I tried to pry it off.

Once I had forced the lid just a bit, the entire pot exploded on me in a second.  Immediately 3 gallons of the hottest water imaginable was on me.

The scalding water missed my face and hands (since I was wearing oven mitts), but severely burned my arms, chest, stomach, and legs. 

Taken to the VGH burn unit, I was in recovery for almost a month, undergoing several skin grafts.  It was agonizing pain and suffering for many months. My arms ached for 2 years, and remains sensitive to this day.  I wore Jobst garments for two years, day and night, and only took them off to shower! 

As much as I love baths, I have not had one since my accident as warm water makes my skin feel very uncomfortable and it remains very sensitive to both warm water and the sun. 

While in the hospital, I was in a room by myself, immobilized, in agony and under heavy sedation.  During this time I never met another survivor to share experiences which today has come to mean so much.

Last October a member of the adult burn program “The Future Is Mine” contacted me and introduced me to the work that was being conducted within the adult burn community.  I found a second family, and have connected to an amazing group of survivors who are so willing to share their experiences and support.

I have a number of key roles with NEC Unified Solutions Canada where I have worked for 15 years.  In addition to my full-time work, I am glad to be able to give back to this community and volunteer as one of the BC Representatives connecting the adult community and making it stronger for both the survivors and their families. They are my second family!

Janice and her family

Janice on her boat

« Back to Survivor Profiles