With summer holidays on the horizon (and already here, for some of our older children), you’re probably looking forward to hosting barbecues and parties in the back-garden. If this is the case, then you need to pay heed to the following warning, from a traumatised US mother.
Shelley LeBlanc-Cormier took to Facebook recently to share an extremely important nugget of wisdom with families all over the world: be careful with your garden fires.
Shelley’s warning came just days after her young son, Tristan, fell into a fire pit in her garden. The pit had held the flames of a fire the night before, which had been extinguished for 12 hours.
Despite the fact that the fire had been put out, the remnants caused serious burns to the little boy when he accidentally fell on top of them.
In an emotionally-charged Facebook Live message, Shelley explained: “I’m not doing this Facebook Live today to get sympathy from anybody. I am not doing it to get ‘sorries’ or prayers. I’m doing this for awareness.
She went on to recount how her family had been having a yard clean-up for the summer the day before. Her little boy was playing, under the supervision of his grandfather, when he fell into the extinguished pit.
“My son has been admitted to a burn unit…with second and third degree burns. About 85 per cent of his left arm is burnt, and his right arm is burnt – though not as severely as his left hand is,” she said.
Sharing photos of her son lying in a hospital bed, Shelley grew emotional.
“This is my little boy,” she sobbed. “I don’t care if you’re burning a fire and cooking marshmallows for your children, or having a couple of drinks; whatever it is…be careful.
“I don’t want anybody or any mother to feel this pain that I’m feeling right now. So, please, keep your kids close, and just remember that it can happen in the split of a second.”
She went on to share an update on Tristan’s progress in hospital, confirming that he is ‘doing extremely well’.
“He has almost all his fingers out. His hand looks amazing. Doctor is confident he will not require any more surgeries for now,” she wrote.
“Thank you again for everyone’s love and support. He will have a fitted custom compression glove soon. Now, time for him to start using it.”
We’re wishing Tristan all the best with the journey to recovery. We’re sure Shelley’s heartfelt message will protect many others, all over the world.
