One minute my little girl was dancing in the kitchen, the next she was on life support covered in 2nd degree burns

A MUM-of-six has recalled every parents’ worst nightmare after her little girl received almost-fatal burns from a pan of boiling water.

Aimee da Cunha, 33, was preparing dinner for her family when her then two-year-old daughter, Hailey, was dancing around the kitchen.

HotSpot MediaAimee pictured with her daughter, Hailey, before her accident[/caption]

HotSpot MediaHailey was dancing around the kitchen before tragedy struck[/caption]

HotSpot MediaThe then two-year-old pictured on life support[/caption]

She never imagined that by that evening, her little girl would be in hospital with second degree burns to 36 per cent of her body.

Hailey spent three months in hospital, during which time doctors told her parents that it was highly likely she would not survive.

Aimee, from Perth, Australia, recalled that life-changing day in June last year, while she was boiling potatoes.

She says: “I turned around to pick up my youngest daughter for a feed, when Hailey suddenly let out a huge scream.  

“I raced to her. She’d knocked the boiling water from the stove all over her.”  

Dad, Justin, placed Hailey under a cold shower and Aimee rang for an ambulance.  

Paramedics attended and gave Hailey pain relief, before rushing her to Perth Children’s Hospital.  

Aimee says: “Her skin was red raw and already peeling, she was hysterical.”  

At hospital, Hailey was admitted to ICU, where doctors dressed her wounds and sedated her.  

The next morning, her face was angry and swollen and doctors confirmed Hailey had second-degree burns to 36 per cent of her body, including her right arm, leg, torso, shoulder blade and face.    

Aimee says: “We were told she’d need lots of surgeries. Justin and I were devastated.”  

That day, doctors also discovered Hailey had developed a respiratory virus and a common cold and they had concerns this would impact her recovery. 

Aimee says: “They weren’t sure whether Hailey would cope if they took her to surgery.

“But by the next day, she seemed to be improving.”  

Doctors shaved Hailey’s head and took her for her debridement surgery to scrub and clean her burns.  

But while on the operating table, Hailey’s lungs gave up, and doctors struggled to stabilise her.

They hooked her up to an oscillator machine to help her breathe and put her on life support.  

Aimee says: “Justin and I were in pieces. We didn’t leave Hailey’s side.”  

After 11 days, Hailey was taken off life support and surgeons performed the postponed debridement surgery, using artificial skin so they wouldn’t have to change Hailey’s dressings as regularly.  

But when doctors tried waking her up two days later, Hailey was struggling to breathe, so she was put back on the oscillator.    

HotSpot MediaHailey, pictured in hospital, suffered second degree burns to 36 per cent of her body[/caption]

HotSpot MediaHailey, pictured with her dad, Justin, was unresponsive when doctors tried to wake her up from her surgery[/caption]

Two weeks later, Hailey was still unresponsive, and her eyes were glassy and unfocused.  

She underwent a CT and MRI scan, which showed she had brain damage.    

‘Vegetative state’

Aimee says: “Doctors told us Hailey would be in a vegetative state and would eventually forget how to breathe.  

“I asked if it was treatable, but they explained the chances of her pulling through were significantly slim. 

“We were devastated.”  

In the following days, Hailey underwent various tests, which showed her brain function was slow and she had no voluntary reflexes.  

Aimee says: “Doctors gave us the choice to withdraw care.  

“The other option was a tracheostomy surgery, but the tracheal tube would be the only thing keeping her alive.  

“We weren’t ready to let her go.”  

Miraculously, the following night, Hailey lifted her arm and pointed at the door with purpose.  

Aimee and Justin decided to give her a chance.  

That day, Hailey had her tracheostomy surgery, in which a hole is made in front of the neck to insert a breathing tube. 

Afterwards, Hailey improved each day and was able to undergo two skin graft surgeries, where donor skin was taken from her left torso, leg, bottom and head.    

Aimee says: “Slowly, I started to see Hailey come back to life.  

“Her eyes became focused, and she started moving her arms.    

“Soon, she was able to sit in a recliner chair, which she loved, and eventually, she started eating and breathing on her own.”  

‘Our little miracle’

Meanwhile, doctors were pleased with the way her burns were healing and a month after her tracheostomy surgery, Hailey’s tube was removed.   

She was fitted with a wheelchair, and in September, she was discharged from hospital.    

Aimee says: “Her siblings were so excited to have her home.   

“Hailey was determined to move around like them, and it wasn’t long before she was rolling around on the floor.”  

Incredibly, just weeks after she was discharged, Hailey took her first steps.  

Now, she wears compression garments all over her body, day and night, and visits a physiotherapist.  

Aimee says: “Hailey makes new progress every day. She has defied everything that the doctors said. She’s our little miracle.

“Seeing Hailey suffer was so hard. Before, she loved to dance and sing, and I was worried that she wouldn’t get her personality back.  

“But she isn’t letting her disability stop her. I’m so proud of her.”  

HotSpot MediaThe family in hospital[/caption]

HotSpot MediaHailey pictured after having her tracheostomy surgery[/caption]

HotSpot MediaHailey pictured after her skin graft surgery[/caption]

HotSpot MediaHailey slowly regained the ability to eat and breathe on her own[/caption]

HotSpot MediaHailey, pictured today, has defied everything that the doctors said[/caption]