We are very grateful for this mommy who wanted to share her traumatic story with us, so that other parents can learn how quickly accidents can happen. Please note that photo’s can be triggering.
We are very grateful for this mommy who wanted to share her traumatic story with us, so that other parents can learn how quickly accidents can happen. Her little boy has recovered well.
We just arrived on holiday, got settled, ate dinner and ran a bath. I saw the water pressure was low and decided to go get the kids clothes ready while it run, as I turned the corner into the kitchen, I was gone for only seconds then I heard a splash and a scream (no kids were in the bathroom when I left). I had my 5 month old in my arms, I ran to the bath as fast as I could as I knew what happened. I pulled my son out so fast and immediately shouted to my mother-in-law to take his clothes off as they were boiling hot. It was a total nightmare, once I saw his arms and skin, I knew we had popped the blisters but also knew I had to get those hot wet clothes off him. We tried cold towels but they heated up so fast on his little body and got him under the tap but nothing was working properly. I then jumped into a cold shower with him and held him facing the water so his arms and neck were fully submerged in water to stop these burns from getting worse. It was the hardest thing we had to do, it hurt him A LOT but I knew we had to do this. We did it for 15 minutes. While doing this my husband called reception. They couldn’t help so we rushed him to the nearest hospital which was government.
The private hospital had closed down years ago unfortunately. From there, we waited a very long time to be seen, to be bandaged and to be given something for the pain. My dear friend, who is a paramedic, was a lifesaver and organized a helicopter to transfer him but there were logistical issues and eventually an ambulance was organized. My son and my husband went to a brilliant hospital with a Burn Unit via ambulance.
It was a total nightmare, once I saw his arms and skin, I knew we had popped the blisters but also knew I had to get those hot wet clothes off him. We tried cold towels but they heated up so fast on his little body and got him under the tap but nothing was working properly. I then jumped into a cold shower with him and held him facing the water so his arms and neck were fully submerged in water to stop these burns from getting worse. It was the hardest thing we had to do, it hurt him A LOT but I knew we had to do this. We did it for 15 minutes. While doing this my husband called reception. They couldn’t help so we rushed him to the nearest hospital which was government. The private hospital had closed down years ago unfortunately. From there, we waited a very long time to be seen, to be bandaged and to be given something for the pain. My dear friend, who is a paramedic, was a lifesaver and organized a helicopter to transfer him but there were logistical issues and eventually an ambulance was organized. My son and my husband went to a brilliant hospital with a Burn Unit via ambulance. He stayed in hospital for 10 days, receiving 3 surgeries requiring *debridement and synthetic skin. He has healed like a champ and is home safe. The doctors applauded our quick reaction to emergency care and said those burns could have been a lot worse.
Thankyou for sharing Mommy B, we know many parents will learn from your experience.
*Debridement is a procedure for treating a wound in the skin. It involves thoroughly cleaning the wound and removing all hyperkeratotic (thickened skin or callus), infected, and nonviable (necrotic or dead) tissue, foreign debris, and residual material from dressings.
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