Cafe horror of boy, 1, scalded by mother’s tea
A MOTHER whose one-year-old son was badly scalded in an accident at a cafe has put graphic photos of his injuries online to warn other parents about the dangers of hot drinks.
Suzie Fogarty had taken her eye off Jake for a second when he grabbed a cup of tea she had put on the table.
He was left with burns on his face and chest and had to be taken to hospital, even though only a small amount of liquid spilt on him.
His torso was swaddled in bandages for weeks and a healing cream will have to be rubbed into his skin three times a day until early next year – but he avoided any serious permanent disfigurement.
His mother has gone public to highlight how easily the delicate skin of young children can be damaged. ‘I don’t think people realise – I never did – how much hot water would damage a kid. I just thought a child would burn like adults burn,’ she said.
‘I thought people really needed to know to keep hot drinks away from their children.’
Mrs Fogarty was visiting a farm and petting zoo on February 25 with her husband James, 37, and their two children when they went to the cafe. ‘I sat him [Jake] in the high chair and I leant down to get the nappy bag and to find his cutlery,’ said Mrs Fogarty, also 37, of Upshire in Essex.
‘I’m still shocked by how he was able to grab the tea.’
The lid on the takeaway cup was secured but a small amount of the hot liquid poured down the toddler’s face and chest, leaving him in agony and crying. Mrs Fogarty, helped by a staff member trained in first aid, dashed to the kitchen to put her son in cold water in a sink. An ambulance arrived eight minutes later.
‘Trying to keep a one-year-old in cold water on a cold day was brutal,’ she said. ‘He was so scared.’
Images uploaded to her Facebook page show the extent of the scalding on Jake’s body after the accident at Lee Valley Park Farm in Waltham Abbey.
He was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and later referred to the children’s burn unit at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford for further treatment. He will not need skin grafts.
The Facebook post had been shared nearly 5,000 times by last night. Mrs Fogarty said many comments were from parents who had been through a similar ordeal.