‘I love it!’ 7-year-old burn survivor has ‘Frozen’ fun with purpose

Sun, 08/04/2019 - 8:15am

Singing with Princess Elsa in a festival of princesses at Damariscotta Baptist Church Saturday, Charlotte Ramsdell knew a lot of the words to “Let it go.”

“But some of the words I didn’t know, so I just repeated Elsa!”

The New Harbor 7-year-old is a big fan of Disney’s “Frozen.” How was she liking the party? “I love it!”

Aug. 30, she’ll be in Boston for her 34th surgery since she suffered burns at 2.

The festival was a fundraiser for Ramsdell to get training to help her deal with the bullying, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other challenges burn survivors face, her mother Carol Ramsdell explained as her daughter and other participants enjoyed pizza. 

Moments later, Charlotte returned. “Princess emergency,” she announced. Sauce had gotten on a princess dress.

The festival had volunteer princesses who resembled Elsa, sister Anna, and Cinderella; music, play snow in two consistencies, and Melissa Glendinning  volunteering her face-painting. Midway into the afternoon event, she said she had been painting unicorns, snowflakes and magical swirls. 

Mary Kay consultant and Ramsdell family friend Joan Teele said she is donating 10 percent of her sales from now until October to the effort to get Charlotte to the training in Anaheim, California. 

Asked her thoughts about people’s wanting to help, Carol Ramsdell said, “I’m kind of awestruck. It has brought me to tears.” She said every surgery to treat her daughter, “We backstep again. She gets cut open, she remembers a little bit of the burn (from scalding water), and she has a lot of anxiety from that.”

At a store two weeks ago, a woman bullied her daughter about the injuries, she said. “She pointed at Charlotte and said ‘You know, you should cover that up.’ At first I couldn’t breath. And then I said to (the woman), ‘You need to learn compassion.’ On what planet is that ever acceptable to say to a child?”

The training at a conference the first week in October would help Charlotte with such incidents and the burns’ other impacts like the PTSD, her mother said. About two weeks into the fundraising, including Saturday’s results, about $500 has been raised toward the $6,000 in conference fees, travel costs and costs to board their pets while she and Charlotte are away, she said.

Turnout was light, maybe due to the sunny day, Ramsdell said. But the “Frozen”-themed event made memories. “Charlotte is going to remember this day for the rest of her life.”

For information on how to give toward the trip, call Ramsdell at 677-3061.