This brave little boy survived burns to ninety five per cent of his body after a disgruntled lodger allegedly set fire to his family home, killing his mother and sister.
Two-year-old Liam was caught up in the fire along with his sister Ema, six, mum Elizabeth and grandad Claudino at the house in New York, USA.
Aunt Denise Moreno, 45, remembers her nephew as a beautiful boy with lots of character and sass, who loved playing with his big sister and being around family, especially his mum.
But this all changed instantly when smoke began billowing from their home in July 2019.
The tragic fire is believed to have been started by an arsonist, who came to New York City in search of a job and stayed at the Moreno’s family home while he found his feet.
But the family noticed that he was not mentally stable and asked him to leave when he became aggressive and set their home on fire in revenge.
The lodger died in the fire which the family tried to escape before emergency services arrived.
Crews found Elizabeth and Liam near the front door trying to escape, where one firefighter had to administer CPR on Liam which saved his life.
The tot was rushed to hospital by an ambulance along with his mother.
Programme manager Denise recalls leaving work in a hurry and arrived at the house, where she was in disbelief. Liam’s condition was extremely critical, as 95 per cent of his body was burned.
As they arrived at the hospital, Denise was told that Liam had less than a one per cent chance of survival.
And if he were to survive, he would need constant around-the-clock care for the rest of his life.
Liam’s body was extremely swollen and he was unable to open his eyes and mouth. He was covered in medical equipment and had to have his stomach opened up in order to relieve pressure.
He also had to go through extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as his body was failing.
This is where a machine is hooked up to the patient and used to replace the function of the heart and lungs.
In July 2019, doctors informed Denise that for Liam to survive, he would have to have his right foot, fingers and toes amputated as there was no more blood flow to his limbs which was needed to prevent any further infection.
After over a year in hospital, Liam was finally allowed home in November 2020 where he entered the full-time care of Denise’s sister-in-law Rafelina Moreno, 50.
Although they’re thankful that he's finally home, the amount of care and attention he needs has been overwhelming.
Since then, he has returned to hospital to have 35 further surgeries including multiple skin grafts, neck realignment and surgery on his intestines.
As well as this, he receives up to five home therapies per day, five days a week, which includes speech therapy, swallow aid and individual assessments as well as general check ups from the doctors a few times a month.
Denise worries that in the future, Liam will get bullied for the way he looks and moves around.
Despite the long road to recovery ahead, the toddler shows perseverance every day.
Recalling the day of the fire, Denise said: “I was packing up my stuff at work when I received a notification through an app on my phone that alerted me of a mass fire in my neighbourhood. As I clicked on the link, my heart sank as I realised it was my family’s home.
“I was in total disbelief and I rushed out of work to make my way to the house, where my phone kept ringing each time there was a further note of severity.
“As I arrived, I fell to my knees in complete shock and fear at the site of the house, which was crumbling apart."
It is understood Elizabeth tried to escape with Liam first, as she was found by the front door holding him.
While Claudino allegedly had a physical fight with the arsonist while trying to save his family.
“The neighbour from the first floor initially called 911 after an explosion was heard and after five minutes, firefighters appeared where they pulled out Liam first and performed CPR on him, which saved his life.
“Liam was wrapped up and rushed to the hospital in an ambulance as he was in an extremely critical condition.
“As I arrived at the hospital, I noticed that his whole body was extremely swollen where his eyes and mouth were completely stuck shut. Shortly after, he was completely bandaged up to help with the pressure of the burns and was placed on medical equipment to help him breathe.
“Medics then informed me that his intestines were starting to swell and in order to save his life, they had to open up his stomach so that they could relieve the pressure.
“Although our whole family was in complete fear over the condition of Liam, the doctors made us feel reassured each step of the way that they were doing everything they could to help his severe state.
“Despite this, it was very easy to lose hope and we held onto our faith even harder, praying for not just Liam, but for Elizabeth too.”
In August 2020, the family were told of Elizabeth's passing as her condition never stabilised.
Although Denise was absolutely heartbroken, she had to turn her attention to Liam, who was still in a critical state and had no immediate family left by his side.
She added: “Liam takes everything day by day and he is starting to get used to seeing the therapists, which has been a great breakthrough as it makes my job as a carer slightly easier.
“We have learned through Liam and his fight that you can never give up and that each day is a gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted."
