As many of you have heard by now, on Tuesday, August 25, 2015, my baby girl, Savannah, tried to get her Ramen noodles out of the microwave and when she reached for the bowl, it tilted, spilling noodles and boiling water down on her head, face, neck and chest.  Originally, I was not going to post anything about her accident on social media, but since her first 5 minutes of life, I’ve posted pictures, accomplishments, milestones, and quotes about her on Facebook, so it is only right that I share this story too. Albeit tragic, it was not fatal. I ask that you read this timeline with the understanding that she is getting better and with God’s grace she will continue to heal. She is not a victim; she is a survivor and a STRONG one at that.

Initially she was treated at the Duke University Hospital Emergency Room, but was later transferred to the UNC Children’s Hospital Burn Unit, where we were told she’d suffered 2nd degree scald burns on 45% of her face & scalp and 40% scald burns on her neck & chest.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, Sav received her first of many painful scrapings to remove all of the dead and burned skin from her body.  When she came back from her scraping, Anthony and I could not believe nor were we prepared for what we saw.  The only thing I remember saying was, “Oh no, they took her face off”. From that point on, I was numb and she was given Oxycodone every 6 hours to help with the pain.

Friday, August 28,2015, Savannah went into surgery at 11 am to have a more intensive skin scraping procedure, as well as to add pig skin to all of her burns to aid with healing and pain.  The surgery was a success but waking up from the anesthesia didn’t go so well. Once they were finally able to wake her, she screamed with excruciating pain for about 30 minutes. She was given morphine, oxycodone, a nausea pill and one other pain medication before she was able to calm down. She stayed asleep for most of the day.

Monday, August 31, 2015, Savannah was released from the hospital to continue the long road to recovery at home.  Anthony and I had to learn to wash and re-dress her burns and make sure they stayed infection free. We also had to continue her OC and physical therapy.  She will have to do therapy to make sure her skin doesn’t tighten around her eye areas and not allow her to blink, her mouth area so her mouth won’t be drawn to one side, and her chest so that the skin is able to stretch with her when she stretches.

Friday, September 4, 2015, Sav went back to the UNC Burn Clinic, (something we will have to do for months to come), for the Dr. to check on the progress of her healing.  They were pleased with her healing progress and removed all of her dressings off of her chest from the surgery. Now that her burns have a protective layer of skin over them and the chance of infection has been greatly reduced, we are able to actually touch the areas. The therapist showed us different types of massages to perform on her at least twice a day, along with the original stretches. We were also given precise instructions on what to do and not to do to help with the healing process.

1.        She is not allowed to go outside for more than 15 min a day for an ENTIRE YEAR.

2.       For the 15 min that she is outside, her face has to be covered in SPF 100 Sunscreen, a UV blocker Hat, and UV blocker clothes. She cannot get her skin exposed to sun at all; and if for some reason she gets sun burned, it is irreversible and will feel like she was burned all over again.

3.       Her skin cannot dry out, if it does, it may split open. She has to apply Cetaphil cream on every two hours.

4.       No contact sports where she could get hit in the face or chest with a hard ball or object

5.       Therapy to continue for the year.

6.       NO SCRATCHING!!!

Despite all of the restrictions, she was cleared to start back to school. J

Tuesday, September 8, 2015, Sav goes back to school.  As we walked up the long sidewalk to enter into the school, her body became tense and she tried to hide her face.  We stopped and I keeled down beside of her.  I asked her if she was ok.  She said yes. I asked her if she wanted to go back home and she said no.  We took about 10 more steps and she pulled her hat down further on her head. Again I asked if she wanted to continue; yes, she replied. We opened the doors to the school and she was greeted by her Kindergarten TA.  Sav’s face lit up as the teacher hugged her, told her she was beautiful and said she was so happy to see her back at school.  Then a second teacher did the same. We walked to her classroom and some of her classmates greeted her with glee.  Her teacher took her book bag and gave her some instructions.  I gave the teacher her Dr’s note and her creams to put on her face.  I said goodbye and got outta there before the tears started to fall. (Mine not hers.)

During her first week at home, Anthony and I had to sleep on either side of her and literally held her hands so she didn’t scratch her face off in her sleep. As I type this today, I wish I could hold her hand at school and help her face everyone. Last night she cried, she was worried that people will laugh at her, worried that she will scare her friends at school by how she looks, worried that she will not be accepted…

Please continue to pray for her healing of body, mind and spirit. She is stronger than I will ever be. Please pray for her daddy and I was well that we stay strong and positive for her. Please pray for that child or adult who says anything out of the way to my baby girl, as I am SURE they will need it most.

I have not yet received any medical bills in the mail so I have not yet a goal but I had to put something in order to post this link. I will continue to update on Savannah’s progress .Feel free to share this with your friends, family, churches, organizations and colleagues.  Any help is greatly appreciated.  Thank You

LaToya Goolsby (Savannah’s mom)