A mum who feared she had ruined her baby’s life when a boiling pan full of vegetables fell on him in her kitchen leaving him horrifically injured has now written a book with her son to bring hope to other young burns survivors and their families. Michelle Whalley, 47, will never forget hearing her toddler son Charlie’s scream, which was so excruciating she thought he had “cut off a limb”, or the nightmare that followed the accident as his organs began shutting down.
Now 14, Charlie endured skin graft surgery, nine years of physiotherapy and was left permanently scarred – but has become a budding footballer and has just written the book with his mum which is available at burns units across the UK. Michelle, a special educational needs teacher who lives in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria with her electrical engineer husband, Andrew, 47, Charlie and his older brother Oliver, 17, said: “When the incident happened, I thought our family life was over. I thought I’d ruined my son’s life forever.
“I did not know what his future looked like and we feared the worst for him. Writing this book was very important to us because we want to give other families of burns survivors hope for the future.”
