Elena Castro Rivera said it is not easy to talk about what happened to her in 2020, when she was just 6 years old.
"We're just having fun and then my foot got stuck in the front wheel and it like scraped all my skin where you could see the bone," Elena said.
Elena was riding a bike with her father when her foot became trapped in the wheel, causing a severe friction burn.
"I couldn't kind of feel anything because like all the nerves are cut off, but like it was still scary," she said.
Her mother, Alma Rivera Donato, said the family immediately went into "survival mode."
"Then they sent us to the Wake emergency room and they're like nope ... this is a burn," Alma said.
Dr. Felecia Williams with the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals said Elena suffered a friction burn.
"So, her burn was quite deep that we couldn't actually do it in one operation," Williams said.
The recovery process took months and included learning how to walk again.
"Lots of learning. Learning to walk again. To run again," Alma said.
Williams said friction burns can be especially difficult for children.
"It can be very painful. They're high risk for infection, but she did really, really well," Williams said.
Elena said one of her biggest fears after the injury was feeling different from other children.
"Maybe I will be different than everybody. I would be made fun of," Elena said. "But that didn't happen."
Shortly after her injury, Elena attended Camp Celebrate, the oldest camp for pediatric burn survivors. Many campers are treated at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals, but all children are welcome to attend.
Williams said the camp gives children a place where they do not have to worry about their scars.
"They can celebrate being a survivor, a young survivor and child with a burn injury with other children and not be afraid of the scars ... not worry about somebody looking at them," Williams said.
Elena said the experience helped her regain confidence.
"You don't have to hide anything. You can have fun without anybody judging you," she said.
Williams said children with burn injuries are often unfairly judged because of visible scars.
"Often people are judged by their scars. People think that those scars would be limitations for them," Williams said. "But in this space, this is an opportunity to be a kid and enjoy life and enjoy all the things that everybody thinks about when it comes to summer and it comes to going to camp and having fun and not being judged."
Today, Elena continues to attend Camp Celebrate every year, and her sister now serves as a camp counselor.
"It's taught her empathy to others and has taught her understanding to others," Alma said.
Elena said the camp has become a place of healing and lasting memories.
"You have fun and make memories and when you grow up you look back, like how many memories you took here and how much you had fun and this cured you," she said.