BURN’S AGONY I turned my back & my life changed for ever – my baby nearly died because of a cooking appliance so many families have
WATCHING her three-year-old son Lyle carefully sipping his slushie in hospital Cristina Ramirez desperately fought to hold back the tears.
He’d just finished his first skin graft and she knew that despite the extensive burns and bandages, he was lucky to be alive.
Lyle had suffered 2nd degree burns to his face, neck and shoulders and Cristina blamed herself for his injuries.
“I’d warned the kids not to touch the slow cooker,” says Cristina. “I’d made a pork shoulder for dinner but turned it off so it would be ready for when we wanted to eat.”
Lilah, then eight, and Vincent, six, had just finished school and were playing with their little brother Lyle while Cristina popped into the bedroom where her partner, Brewer, 29, was playing with their baby son, Donovan, one.
“I thought the baby needed a nappy change,” says Crisina. “I had literally taken my eye off the older kids for a second when I heard a loud thump from the kitchen. Then a blood curdling scream made my heart stop”
As she ran towards the horrifying sound, Lyle appeared in the doorway, his orange-coloured shirt was drenched and clinging to his little body and his face and neck bright red.
“I was screaming, ‘Oh my God’,” says Cristina. “As I peeled off his shirt, the skin on his chest, right shoulder and face was melting off, while steam rose from his body. It was terrifying.”
In the kitchen Cristina found the slow cooker on the floor – the boiling H๏τ liquid and meat were everywhere.
According to Lilah, Lyle had been reaching for an ice cream from the freezer, which was next to the mini fridge which the crockpot was on. When he closed the door, it shook the fridge and the slow cooker fell on top of him.
“Lyle was inconsolable,” says Cristina. “I wrapped him up in a wet towel and we took a 15 minute drive in our seven seater van to our local hospital in South Carolina, USA.
“My heart was breaking into a million pieces, but I tried to stay calm for my boy, but on the inside I was panicking.”
Lyle was rushed into emergency but even though doctors gave him pain relief and dressed him in special wound bandages, they weren’t properly equipped to treat his injuries so he was airlifted, along with Brewer, to a specialised burn centre, two hours from our home in Georgia, USA.
After dropping the other kids with her mum, Cristina took the two hour journey to be with Lyle.
“I was told he had second degree burns and would need a skin graft to recover,” says Cristina. “Brewer tried to console me, but I was racked with guilt.
The following morning Lyle was taken into the operating room, where surgeons grafted donor skin to his chest and back. Stem cell therapy was used to help his face heal.
Five days later, Lyle was allowed home to continue healing. His siblings were overjoyed to see him, carefully giving him a hug
“The first week was tough as his wounds were itchy and he was still in terrible pain,” says Cristina.
“Then during an appointment in May, doctors noticed the donor skin on Lyle’s chest wasn’t healing as expected, so a graft was taken from his thigh and placed over his chest and neck where the burns were the most severe.”
The procedure was a success, and they were sent home a week later.
“Two months on from the nightmare ordeal Lyle’s wounds are healing nicely,” says Cristina. “But he remains wary of large pots, so I’ve resorted to using smaller ones to avoid frightening him.
Outside of mealtimes, he’s back to his bubbly self, playing with his siblings and enjoying watching cartoons.
“His resilience inspires us every day.”
Cristina hopes Lyle’s story serves as a warning to other parents and caregivers to always keep H๏τ cookware out of reach of little hands.
🗞️ Sources: The Sun, GoFundMe: “Lyle Roger’s Burn Recovery,” burn-care guidance from children’s hospital resources.
