A mum has issued a desperate hot drink warning after her one-year-old suffered horrific burns following a boiling teapot spill.
Carrie Doyle has vowed never to drink a cup of tea in the same room as her son, Mason, again, after a terrible accident led to the tot being so badly injured he needed an emergency four hour operation.
When on her way to playgroup with Mason on June 23, Carrie decided to stop off at St George’s Restaurant in her hometown of Gravesend, Kent for a quick cuppa.
The 38-year-old said she believes Mason may have pulled the teapot over himself, leading to gruesome scalds over his legs, hands and stomach, KentLive reported.
No one saw the accident occur and Mason needed a four hour operation to perform a skin graft on the most severe burns on his legs.
The mum-of-four said her tot’s awful injuries could have been even worse had an off-duty nurse not been present to help.
The entire ordeal has left Carrie to terrified of having hot drinks around her son.
"You just don't think it's going to happen to you but these things can happen in a split second. Since then a lot has changed - before this I never thought twice about having a cup of tea while he was running around but now I will not drink one in the same room as him," she said.
Carrie added: "I was pushing the pram so a waitress said 'I'll bring it over' so I walked to an empty table with Mason and kind of parked him up at an angle.
“She's followed me over and all I heard her say was 'I'll leave this here'. Then by the time I looked at [Mason] and his face told me that something wasn't right.
"I bent down to him and I felt the heat coming off his clothes and that's when it dawned on me what had actually happened.
“I got him out of the pram and was screaming 'get him under water'. I literally threw him at the waitress behind the counter and she took him into the kitchen and put him in their sink.
"I ran back to the table to get my phone to ring an ambulance and then ran back in and took over taking his clothes and nappy off. It was absolute panic. He was screaming, he was hysterical. He's always been really laid back and calm for a baby and he doesn't cry so to hear those screams was heart-wrenching."
An off-duty nurse then stepped in to help Carrie and ensure he was under cold water for a minimum of twenty minutes and maximum of thirty, as they waited for an ambulance.
Mason was rushed to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford where he was cleaned, bandaged and given pain relief.
But due to the lack of a burns facility there, Carrie had to take her son to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, for further treatment.
It was here he had the four-hour procedure to give him a skin graft to cover the worst affected areas on his legs.
The operation was a success and after four nights in hospital the tot was able to return home.
Carrie said: "I knew it was bad but I thought they were going to clean it, dress it and I'd be bringing him home, I didn't realise how bad it was until they started talking about surgery.
"There were a couple of areas that looked deeper than the rest and I had to sign there and then to say they could graft those areas but as it turned out they actually grafted the whole lot.
“Initially they said there were a couple of areas of concern that the graft had failed but they just wanted to leave it to heal on its own and thankfully it's looking like it's doing that.
"There's now just one area that is quite raw but they are quite confident that it's healing."
Carrie managed to track the off-duty nurse who helped care for Mason down on social media to thank her, who turned out to be a paediatric nurse in the right place at the right time.
Carrie said: "If it wasn't for her I don't know where he would've ended up. The doctors at Chelmsford all said her quick thinking and knowing those timings was essential. She was in the right place at the right time and thank god she was there because god knows how much worse that could've been.
The mum now hopes to warn other parents and draw their attention to the Children's Burn Trust where they can get advice on burn prevention and rehabilitation. To see the advice, click here.
A spokesperson for St George's Restaurant said: "The staff present that day were all deeply saddened by the incident and the trauma caused to Mason and the parents. The staff are thankful for the nurse that was present and helped them take control of the situation. We understand and pray that Mason will make a full recovery after all the surgeries he has undergone."
