Teen girls today enjoy keeping up with the latest beauty trends, whether it’s perfecting their skincare routine, stocking Sephora with makeup must-haves, or even something as simple as painting their nails.
However, one Ohio teenager is sharing a warning after the simple task of removing nail polish landed her in the hospital with third-degree burns.
Kennedy, 14, was at her home in Xenia, Ohio on Jan. 5, getting ready to join her cheerleading squad for a school basketball game. She was in the bedroom removing nail polish while sitting near a burning candle.
“I had to take the nail polish off because she’s not in uniform and while I was taking it off I had a candle next to me on the bed,” Kennedy, 14, tells PEOPLE, noting that she’s done the same routine many times before. “As I was putting the nail polish remover bottle on the bed, the vapors just mixed together and the bottle exploded in my hand. It engulfed me and everything around me in flames.”
“I was really scared and I was screaming and just trying to do as much as I could to stop the fire and just get out,” she explains, adding that her bed, clothes, arms, hands and hair caught fire.
Kennedy.
Shriners Children’s Ohio
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At the time, Kennedy’s parents were at work and she was home alone with her four siblings, two of whom burst into her bedroom after hearing her screams. Kennedy was able to extinguish the flames on her body, and the siblings left the house to call 911 after closing the door to Kennedy’s burning bedroom.
“It’s nothing I’ve ever been through before. I was still in a lot of shock, but after the adrenaline subsided, I felt a lot of pain,” she says.
“It was a horrible scene when she was covered in blisters and sores and her skin was melting,” added Kennedy’s mother, Brandi, 34, who arrived home at the same time as the ambulances and fire engines. “It was a wild experience.”
Kennedy was then transported to Shriners Children’s Hospital — a pediatric facility specializing in the treatment of burns — in Dayton, Ohio, where he was treated by Dr. Sara Higginson, chief of staff, who served as the on-call burn surgeon.
Immediately after arriving at Shriners, Higginson says Kennedy underwent a major procedure to clean the wounds and remove dead skin.
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On January 17, the teenager also underwent a surgical excision and grafting procedure, which is designed to promote wound healing and reduce the risk of infection by removing unhealthy tissue.
“Kennedy ended up with full-thickness injuries to her abdomen, both thighs, and then her right arm. And other areas that were able to heal without the need for excision and grafting,” Higginson tells PEOPLE. “But she had pretty big injuries all over the front.”
Although the complete healing process after a skin graft takes about a year, doctors say Kennedy’s progress so far has been incredible.
“Kennedy is a little warrior. She really pushed everything and they are really surprised at how well she is healing,” says Brandi. “Three weeks later … it’s just amazing how he looks now. Doctors say he will have minimal scarring, minimal everything. Their goal is to make sure she’s comfortable with her body after that, so we’re very grateful.”
“I healed well and there were no big bumps,” Kennedy says, saying her hands have healed enough to put a cheerleading bow in her hair herself. “The whole process of healing skin grafts takes about a year, a little more. So by next year, maybe March or April, I should be completely done with the healing process.”
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Kennedy and Dr. Sara Higginson.
Shriners Children’s Ohio
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Higginson says that in the meantime, Kennedy will continue physical and occupational therapy at Shriners, which promises to stay with its patients until they are 18 to 21 years old.
“Going forward, we’ll be doing laser treatment every two months for six to 10 treatments to make sure all the scars are as functional as possible,” says Higginson. “Kennedy is great and she’s come through this process actually pretty quickly and I think that’s a testament to her mental strength.”
Now, Kennedy and Brandi hope to raise awareness and use her story as a reminder to people to be more aware of their surroundings.
“Most kids in high school know that an open flame and an accelerant don’t belong together, but sometimes we just don’t think about those things,” explains Brandi. “And then teach your kids about fire safety too because if they didn’t know how to close the door, they could all get hurt.”
“So just basic fire safety and being aware of your surroundings because things can change in the blink of an eye,” she tells PEOPLE. “Accidents really do happen.”
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Kennedy during physical therapy.
Shriners Children’s Ohio
Meanwhile, Higginson admits that while this is her first nail polish remover burn accident, she has treated many young patients for open flame accidents.
“I think it’s important to have a three-foot safety buffer between flames, whether it’s a firebox, a candle, a stove,” she says. “The big plus is that Kennedy understands how it could have been different and her desire to make sure we get the message across.”
Higginson adds: “We have to really think about what I’m doing right now and how can I make this safer so it doesn’t happen to someone else? Because that’s a pretty common scenario for a teenage girl, so I like that she really wants to provide a safety message about flames and flammable liquids.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education