A nine-month-old boy knocked over a kettle of boiling water and burned a quarter of his body. Despite the direct threat to life, doctors managed to save the baby. However, many years of struggle for his health lie ahead. To help such children, the UNBROKEN KIDS children’s rehabilitation system is being developed in Lviv.
The story of little Denysk from Vinnytsia, unfortunately, is typical, doctors say. The baby was in the kitchen. The parents let the baby out of their sight only for a moment, when he spilled a kettle of boiling water on himself. In order to relieve their son’s pain before the ambulance arrived, the parents poured water on the affected skin.
An ambulance took Denysk to the district hospital in Vinnytsia. The condition of the baby was extremely difficult. Burns of 25% of the body surface. 10% of them are deep. After providing first aid, Denysk was transported to Lviv – to St. Nicholas Hospital.
“The child had burns on his face, neck, chest, both arms and legs. In total, 25% of the body is covered with burns, of which 10% are second degree, i.e. deeper. We treated burns, provided infusion therapy and analgesia. But our conditions do not allow us to properly treat such an area of burns in such small patients,” said Halyna Sayan, head of the Center for Thermal Trauma and Plastic Surgery of the First Medical Association of Lviv.
After three days in intensive care, doctors managed to alleviate the child’s condition. And when the direct threat to life passed, the boy was transferred to the burn unit of the surgical department. However, they cannot provide all necessary medical assistance to children with such complex burns in Ukraine. Doctors lack the necessary conditions and equipment. That’s why now little Denysk from Vinnytsia is being treated in Switzerland.
When the boy returns to Ukraine, he will need a long rehabilitation that will last his entire childhood. After all, scars will need to be treated all the time.
Every year, 12 thousand young Ukrainians receive burns. Most – under the same circumstances as Denis: a kettle, a cup with a hot drink, hot water from the tap. Nowadays, mine-explosive injuries have been added to these household injuries. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, only 350 children with mine and explosive injuries have been treated in St. Nicholas Hospital.
In order to treat Ukrainian children with burns in Ukraine and facilitate their growing up, in Lviv, on the basis of the National Rehabilitation Center NEZLAMNI, they are creating a children’s rehabilitation system – UNBROKEN KIDS. A children’s burn department will be part of it. The mobile operator Kyivstar and the charity platform dobro.ua were among the first to support its arrangement. They joined forces and, within the framework of the “Children’s Hope” charity program, started the direction of helping children with burns and opened a collection for a modern laser for grinding scars.
Anyone can join this charitable initiative by following the link.
Kyivstar prepaid subscribers can also set up regular transfers or make a one-time donation via SMS to 450025.