Many friends are asking me what actually happened to Qiaoyi and how she got the burn. They are concerned because most of them also having young children like me and would like to ensure that similar incident does not happen to anyone of them too.
I wish to share this with my friends though I would like to avoid recalling the incident again. Somehow, it will serve as a good reminder to me and other parents who have young kids to take precautionary action when dealing with hot stuffs.
It was on 31st Aug, 2008, a public holiday in Malaysia. I and my elder sister planned this trip together with family to Sg. Klah Hot Springs Park, Sungkai in Perak. It is famous with its natural hot spring water and attract many visitors. We have heard a lot about it so thought it would be nice to bring the families there and experience the hot spring water.
I still remember it was a sunny morning on that day and we left the house happily looking forward to the hot spring park. It took us more than 2 hours to reach the destination.
As we stepped into the park, we were fascinated by the hot steaming water in the pool and the greens . It was really crowded with visitors on that day by the noon time. So we thought to have some light lunch in the cafeteria before proceeding with our exploration in the park.
We went to the cafeteria and checked on the food stalls . As most of the food were spicy in nature and my girls don't take spicy food, so we decided to buy 2 cups of instant noodles with soup for the girls to eat. I handled the instant noodles soup while my husband was busy buying food in another stall. After placing the 2 cups of instant noodle soup on the middle of the table, I told the girls that it was hot and advised them to wait for me while I walked away to get them some cool drinks.
As I was waiting for the drinks to be packed by the hawker...I heard some noises coming from the table where my girls were sitting and I saw my elder sister with some other people gathered around the table.
My heart sank...I saw the skin rolling out from her hands and legs when she rubbed them. My sister and I quickly took off her t-shirt and long pants, and we could see the skin came out from her tummy and thigh! The raw flesh could be seen...( thinking of this , my heart is still sinking...) ! Qiaoyi was really frightened seeing her own condition and cried in pain... we did not know what to do , all of us were stunned and panic as we have never expected this to happen.
We sought for help and there came this young man who was sitting in the cafeteria and witnessed the incident. He ran over to the stall and asked for ice cubes and cold water to splash on Qiaoyi's burn wound. He told us to get more ice and cold water to splash on Qiaoyi's lower body continuously to reduce the heat being absorbed into her skin. Qiaoyi was really in pain and in a state of shock ( my heart is pinching too while writing this ) , and I almost went crazy seeing her condition.. she is my baby...!
That young helpful man advised us to send her to hospital immediately to get further treatment as the condition was quite bad. We quickly wrapped her lower body with towel. My husband carried her and walked out from the park heading to the resort office looking for help. It was quite a long distance to walk out to the resort office and the car park. We did not waste a single minute while trying to reach the resort office. At one point my husband had to stop for few minutes to catch his breath...I could see him sweat badly. I hugged the traumatised Qiaoyi during the few minutes ...both of us were actually hugging each other and cried. Suddenly, she stopped and said to me, " mummy, you don't worry.. I am okay...! ". My heart almost broken upon hearing this. Qiaoyi was in pain yet she was still able to console her panicking and helpless mummy, how I wish it was me who got the burn, not her !!
We finally reached the resort office and two of the resort staff helped leading us out to the town without hesitation. As it was a public holiday, most clinics at that area were closed. They had no choice but to lead us to the Slim River General Hospital which is located quite far away. It took us almost 45 minutes to reach the hospital and all in all we had wasted one hour plus before we could get emergency treatment for Qiaoyi. I think it was the time factor that caused her to suffer the burn to 3rd degree for certain parts of her body, meaning , delay in obtaining treatment and thus the heat had been absorbed into the inner skin and damaged the skin tissue.
She was requested to hospitalize but we decided to send her back to Klang to seek for specialist treatment as we did not have any clothing and other necessary items with us for hospitalization in Slim River General Hospital. The other 2 elder girls of mine were taking care by my sister and her family at the park.
It was another 2 hours drive before we reached the private hospital in Klang. Qiaoyi was tough and stopped crying during the journey back to Klang. She was tired and traumatised too. In fact, all of us were very very tired and exhausted on that day. We were actually driving non-stop on the road from Klang-Sungkai-Slim River-Klang. it was a tragic outing for us, especially to Qiaoyi.
She was eventually hospitalized in Klang. The surgeon in charged advised us that the burn on her body varied from 1st to 2nd degree. The surgeon had also advised that time factor is very important when encounter burns..be it fire or hot water. The first aid is we should let the cold water run onto the burns area for few minutes or use the ice if available to get rid of the heat. This is to avoid the skin tissue being damaged . I think we had missed the golden opportunity to do this resulting a more serious burn condition.
Qiaoyi did not attend her kinder garden for almost 3 weeks due to movement limitation and also to avoid herself from being infected with virus. Those wound that suffered 1st to 2nd degree burn were mostly recovered within 2 to 3 months with marks on. However, there are two parts, ie, one on her right thigh and the other on her lower abdomen did not heal smoothly. The scars formed on these 2 areas are thick, raised, dark red in colour and itchy too. In fact, the scars grow beyond the site of the injury after some time. We were advised by the general surgeon to seek further treatment from the plastic surgery consultant since they have better expertise in scar treatment.
This incident is a nightmare to us. Sometimes, I still cannot control my tears when recalling or talking about the incident. I blame myself for what had happened as being a parent, I had been negligent and did not take good care of my child's safety. Many times, we are used to take things for granted and I think this is a good lesson for us, but pay a heavy price for it.
Qiaoyi was subsequently recommended to go through the steroid injection treatment for her scars as there was no improvement after using the silicon gel sheet and pressure garment for 2 months. In fact, it is growing like a living scar, it is called keloid , the worst type of scar and usually formed if it is 3rd degree burn. There is another type of treatment by using laser but it is quite dangerous for her young age. The injection treatment is the most suitable type for her so far although it is painful during the procedure. In fact, there are several methods to treat burn scars but none of these are perfect and there is a possibility of reoccurring ! We are really worry thinking about this.
Qiaoyi had gone through 2 injection treatments so far, the latest one was on 28th Feb, '09. There is some improvement seen on the scar after the second treatment. It is slightly flatter, softer and the colour turns into light red instead of dark red . The doctor will determine if she need to go through the 3rd treatment after the check up on next Saturday.
Qiaoyi is slowly forgetting the unpleasant incident. She did not mention about the park any more and stopped asking me why I walked away and why I did not feed her the hot noodle....( she was actually tried to take the hot noodles to eat but the cup with narrow bottom fell down onto her..)
Qiaoyi has been brave since the beginning. We feel pain when she is in pain. Her laughter is our joy. Through her beautiful eyes, we see the hope. We believed God is kind and will heal her, and we shall have faith in Him. Praises to Qiaoyi for her braveness...we love you !
P/s : We would like to thank the young helpful man who came to our first aid at the cafeteria when we were lost and panic during the incident. We did not ask for his name and we can't remember if we had thanked him for his help ...but, we will always remember him and may God bless him too.
P/s : We would like to thank the young helpful man who came to our first aid at the cafeteria when we were lost and panic during the incident. We did not ask for his name and we can't remember if we had thanked him for his help ...but, we will always remember him and may God bless him too.
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