In just 60 seconds, our lives had changed forever.
Dusty is the youngest of four girls; she was adventurous- she walked, then ran! Living rural, Dusty aged two and her family enjoyed spending time outdoors year-round, with many evenings spent cooking barbeques, making damper and roasting marshmallows around the fire pit.
What happened?
We had used our fire pit on the first weekend of winter, and like usual, we had removed the excess wood. Sadly 14 hours later, the fire pit, which stood buried in the ground, had continued to smoulder, and our precious Dusty Rose had tripped on the knee-height fire pit while looking back over her shoulder as she walked. She landed directly on her hands and forearms, deep in hot coals; she manoeuvred her body and sat in the fire pit screaming.
We were all very close by in the garden and could hear her scream, but we could not see her. It felt like minutes as I frantically looked for her, and finally, I sprinted to her blonde locks sticking out the top of the steel pit.
I picked her up, removed layers of clothing we had only just put on to keep mosquitos away, ripped off her leather boots that protected her feet, and we immediately raced to the shower. We stood in a cool running shower for a gruelling 24 minutes while we waited for the ambulance to arrive.
I remember thinking I had no idea if she had burns elsewhere on her body, but I could not get out of this water. As I held her, listening to her deafening screams, I could see my pregnant belly covered in her skin; it was just melting off.
Finally we could hear sirens echoing down our road; the ambulance staff arrived, gave Dusty strong medication for her pain, and told us we were heading for the Royal flying doctor.
Treatment and recovery journey
Arriving at Geraldton Hospital, Dusty was placed back into the shower before enduring individual dressings to her fingers, palms and forearms. It was here that we could see the severity of her burns.
Every fingernail was black, most of her skin blistering or missing entirely. Her hands looked unrecognisable from those little hands that I had held that day.
Arriving at the Burns ward was overwhelming, with some huge days to endure. Finally, medication had kicked in, her pain was under some control, and the staff could dress her hands. Within four days, Dusty had been under general anaesthetic to clean her wounds and assess the damage caused to her hands and forearms. She had her first of many skin grafts to repair her third-degree burns during this time. The team at PCH were incredible. Fiona and the team of burns surgeons kept us informed of her treatments and interventions, helping us to make informed decisions.
Dusty's first skin graft went really well, but we faced a spike in temp, and the risk was too high to let her body fight it, so we had an Iv of antibiotics to help clear any bugs or infection to the burn site. Dressing changes were incredibly difficult to witness and often would take many adults to assist.
The burns team were kind, gentle, and helpful, and we always felt informed with every decision along the journey. They often supported us just as much through the early days of our stay. It wasn't long into our burns journey when we started receiving treatment from physios, occupational therapists and many members of the burns team. We knew the road was going to be a long one, and all these faces soon became very familiar.
Dusty's left hand healed very quickly after her skin grafting. With these burns being less aggressive, we had great success with one skin graft using RECEL. Being left-handed, it was great news for Dusty. Dusty's right hand needed a lot more work, and we sometimes felt unsure whether we were getting anywhere. Skin grafting surgery, dressings, and healing is a very big process, and each time our resilient almost two-year-old would be faced with a tight, uncomfortable hand and very restrictive movement.
The scaring and the tightness made Dusty's hand incredibly sore; each day of massage was hard, and the dressings changes became a real task with a toddler, but we continued, knowing that progress had to be near.
Life now
Our dear little girl was an absolute champion through it all. Even in these hard moments, we felt so much support. Anthony and I would always be mind blown at how quickly we could contact our team and Fiona herself on a Zoom call to seek clarification or help with any concerns. Being a regional outpatient, we relied heavily on this.
Although life looks a little different for us lately, Dusty has made much progress. She wears a splint and gloves to support her healing between surgeries and attends ongoing appointments with the physio and OT team at PCH. Our skin grafting journey still has a long road ahead; as she grows so quickly this will be ongoing along with laser appointments for her scaring.
Dusty is a happy, well-adjusted two-year-old who is meeting all her milestones. She is now a big sister to her new baby brother, who arrived just three weeks after her accident, bringing a little bit of sunshine to our family's hard days.
As we reach one year since the accident, I felt it was important to share our story to show parents how quickly these accidents can happen. It is very easy to get complacent in the things we do often, and after living in and out of the burns ward for the last 11 months, we can see that so many families are impacted by accidental burns, and prevention is the best measure.
By talking about our lived experiences it makes others aware, and we hope that it can make you more vigilant and extra safe this winter.