Toddler's 'gruelling' recovery after suffering common household injury
Amarnie has had to undergo multiple surgeries to help repair burns to her chin, chest, torso and neck.
An ordinary day at home resulted in an unthinkable tragedy for one family after a toddler reached for a hot cup of tea causing it to spill down her chest. The single action left the 15-month-old with "severe burns" covering her little body.
A piercing, blood-curdling scream is what alerted mum Renee Steepe to her daughter's injury, who at the time was being looked after by her grandmother in the other room. Amarnie had reached for a table she'd never before been able to reach — although this time she suddenly could.
"She brought it to her mouth to drink it like it were a sip cup. And with the heat, she poured it down the front of herself," family friend Julie Fox told Yahoo News Australia.
"[Renee and her mum] screamed and stripped her right away and rang the closest hospital. They decided to drive her as it was faster than waiting for an ambulance."
Several surgeries to help with horrific burns
Renee and her daughter live with Renee's mother in Yelarbon, a small southwest Queensland town near the NSW border. After arriving at Inglewood Hospital, some 25 minutes away, the little girl was made to sit under running water for 40 minutes.
Realising the extent of her burns — described as full-thickness, which is equivalent to third-degree — she was then airlifted to Brisbane's Children's Hospital for immediate surgery.
Since that day, on June 26th, young Amarnie has required multiple surgeries to help repair the full-thickness burns to her chin, chest, torso and neck, meaning she has no skin left on her body. Currently, she remains covered from the chin-down in special dressings, infection prevention and compression devices.
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Mum travels 800km a week for toddler's recovery
While in good spirits, considering the ordeal, the mum and daughter duo are having to travel roughly 800kms from their hometown to the hospital and back every week for special care, with occupational therapy likely needed to minimise scarring.
"This gruelling trip, sometimes made twice a week, is essential for Amarnie's healing, but it comes at a significant financial and emotional cost," Julie, who works with Renee, said. "Next week she'll start the skin grafts. "
Toddler's mum 'pushing through' daughter's recovery
Currently, it's not yet known how long the toddler's recovery will take, or how many more surgeries are required to repair her skin but "Renee is continuing to push through", her friend and employer said.
"She's a single parent and looks after her own too," Julie continued "I think she's coping amazingly, but I think it must be overwhelming and just going from day to day because it's so out of your control."
As for Amarnie, "she's full of sass and spunk", even now after her tragic injury. "She's just a very happy little girl and doing really well after surgery. She often goes and visits all the kids in the hospital".
Julie has set up a GoFundMe page for the family to help ease the burden of "travel, petrol, and overnight stays in Brisbane". "The emotional toll of this ordeal is immense, and the road to recovery is slow and challenging," she said.
Expert warning with scalding burns common among children
The most common cause of burn injuries among paediatric patients was scalds — accounting for a whopping 49 per cent of all burns in paediatric patients, according to the Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand (BRANZ) Annual Report 2020/21.
Overall in paediatric cases, hot beverages were the most common sub-cause (19 per cent), followed by food (liquid or solid) (10 per cent).
The age group that reported the most burns injuries was the 13-24m age group with 31.2 per cent of all burns injuries occurring in this age group. The 13-24 month age group also accounted for the highest rate of scalds by far (45.6 per cent).
Kidsafe warns "hot drinks burn like fire" and there are two things parents can do to prevent them, CPR Kids, a first-aid training platform for families, states.
Don’t hold your child when having a hot drink and keep kettles, jugs, mugs and cups out of reach, they warn.
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