Girl suffered fat fryer burns
A MUM has relived the moment her daughter suffered devastating and life-changing burns following a deep-fat fryer accident at their home – and praised the actions of medics who saved her life.
A MUM has relived the moment her daughter suffered devastating and lifechanging burns following a deep-fat fryer accident at their home.
Grace Shaw was playing with her younger sister Farrah in the kitchen when she fell and pulled the boiling-hot contents of the fryer all over herself.
She ended up burning 38% of her body and almost died when she went into shock from the unrelenting pain and significant damage caused.
Her mother Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones says the incredible care Grace received from staff at the A&E department at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital – situated just minutes from their home in Talbot Green – saved her daughter’s life.
The emergency unit is currently being considered for closure by Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board due to severe staff shortages.
“Without their fastthinking and reactions my daughter wouldn’t be here now,” said Toni-Marie.
“As soon as she arrived at the hospital she was sedated and prevented from going into full-blown shock. If we’d had to travel any further to hospital I believe she would have died.”
Grace, who was just five when the accident took place on April 28, 2016, was quickly covered in a damp towel by her dad Gary Shaw who then called Toni-Marie who was working in a restaurant five minutes away from their home.
Recalling the horrifying incident, the mum said: “Before I had gone to work I had put the deep-fat fryer on and cut some chips ready to put in it.
“After the chips had been made I had put the fryer to cool on the counter. It had been turned off for about 20 minutes when the accident happened. I was later told the fryer’s contents still would have been 180 to 190 degrees.
“When I got home, Grace was just shaking and screaming in pain and kept on saying ‘I’m dying, I’m dying.’ We didn’t even wait for an ambulance – we just drove her to A&E ourselves.”
When Gary arrived at the doors of A&E with Grace cradled in his arms, Toni-Marie said they were taken straight into a side room where they were surrounded by medical staff.
“They were fabulous. We had eight doctors and five nurses all around her,” she said.
“Grace had to be ventilated and sedated before being taken by ambulance to Bristol Children’s Hospital.”
For the first 13 hours in Bristol, Grace’s parents were unable to see her as doctors carried out emergency skin grafts and tried to stabilise her condition.
“She had burns to her head, half her back, her left and right arm. She also had splashes on her legs and feet,” said ToniMarie, who now lives in Llanharry.
“The only thing that wasn’t affected was her torso.”
Grace was sedated in hospital for three days and spent a fortnight in intensive care as medics carried out skin grafts and procedures every other day.
“It was touch and go for weeks whether she’d make it. She could have picked up infections at any time,” said ToniMarie, who stayed in the Ronald McDonald accommodation on site in Bristol while juggling her commitments to Farrah.
“But when she came round from the sedation, looked at me and said ‘I want black pop and raspberries’ we knew she was going to pull through. She’s just so strong and independent.”
Grace spent three months in Bristol before she was discharged, and now has regular appointments at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.
“The staff in Bristol were so fantastic that we’ve even named a teddy after one of the doctors,” said Toni-Marie.
Grace, now nine, who loves dancing and the mobile app Tik Tok, is flourishing at Llanharry Primary School against the odds.
“Now Grace is nearly 10 she wants everyone to know what she’s been through. She’s had almost 100 surgeries to skin graft and re-correct the skin,” said Toni-Marie.
“Apart from a little tuft at the top, she’s lost most of her hair which will never grow back as the burns were so deep it killed the tissue.
“But even if she does decide to wear a wig it’s normally off within five minutes.
“She’s retained her confidence and always manages to smile.”