Mom Issues Warning To Other Parents Of Young Kids After A 'Mundane Incident' Landed Her Son In The ICU
A scary reminder for all parents.
@legofam / TikTok One mother who went through a horrific experience with her child took to social media in hopes of saving others from similar disasters.
As a parent, it’s generally impossible to keep track of your children 100% of the time. You could turn around for a second to find them about to ingest something poisonous, falling at a playground, running with scissors, or any number of dangerous activities. It’s troubling to think about, but sometimes accidents happen despite our best efforts.
An elementary school boy suffered horrible burns after making himself his favorite snack.
According to Nicole Lego’s TikTok, she was in another room putting her toddler to bed for a nap when her older child decided to microwave himself a cup of noodles. The boy accidentally dropped the noodles in his lap and began screaming.
His mom gave a graphic description of his injuries, saying his skin was “literally melting off.” She immediately rushed him to the emergency room, where he was taken to the burn unit.
“Little did we know, he already had deep second-degree burns at that point,” Lego said. “A burn like that does not stop burning. Even though you take the hot water off, it still continues to burn for hours. For up to 72 hours, it will continue to get worse… No amount of medicine would stop the screaming.”
Her son had to go through painful, intensive treatment for his injuries. “He had to have surgery, days later, to get pig skin put on him to close the nerves and get them to heal,” Lego explained. “The amount of infection, scarring, and the literal trauma that they will have for the rest of their lives over a cup of noodles… I will never, ever think lightly of something like hot chocolate or a cup of noodles or anything like that ever again.”
The mother anticipated comments blaming her for her son’s accident but posted the video anyway to warn others.
“I’m only even coming on here because I don’t ever want a child to experience what my son has been through,” Lego said. “I already know that people are going to comment ‘Why did you give him that?’ ‘Why didn’t you see if the water was too hot?’ — I already know. Nothing you can say can make me feel any more guilty than I already feel. The only reason I’m even sharing this is so nobody has to make the same mistake I did.”
Sure enough, Lego’s next video was responding to a comment from someone saying “I wouldn’t give my kid something that hot. Your fault 100%.” Lego tearfully explained that she wasn’t in the room when her son made himself the noodles. “It happened in literally two minutes,” she sobbed. “I didn’t even know until he came in and he was screaming.”
Aside from the previously mentioned comment, most people who responded to Lego’s video were sympathetic. Many reminded her that accidents happen and that, unfortunately, this particular type of incident happens quite frequently. “I’m a nurse that works in a burn clinic. We literally get at LEAST 2 kids with burns caused by cups of noodles a week,” one comment said.
Plenty of others had been through similar experiences and shared how traumatic they had been for them. “I dropped hot chocolate over my lap at 8 years old and got second-degree burns. So traumatic but not my parents' fault, just an accident. You’re a great mom,” one person commented.
When Lego and her son were at the hospital, the medical staff informed her that incidents like these weren’t rare. “We just want you to know that this is one of the most [common] things we see here with children,” they told her.
Lego’s video should serve as a reminder for us to be careful around hot liquids, especially when children are involved. Hopefully, her son is recovering quickly and will be better soon.
Jessica Bracken is a writer living in Davis, California. She covers entertainment and news for YourTango.