A young girl who was seriously burned by a firework in 2017 has shared her story.
Rosie-May was just four years old when she was struck in the neck by a firework that had gone astray at a friend’s garden display in Cwmbran, South Wales.
Ellie Mason, Rosie-May’s mum, told The Drop about the night of her daughter’s injury. “The evening was going well with hot dogs and hot chocolate for the kids. The sky was looking pretty with all the colours and the kids were loving life with their friends and watching the fireworks.
“Then one went astray and the flare flew into Rosie-May. Her coat caught fire and I remember patting it down to put it out. After getting her inside, my friend frantically got the other children in the house.
“When the accident happened, Rosie-May just froze and went silent. She just wanted me to hold her tight.”
Rosie-May, now aged 9, said: “My accident was a scary time, I felt so scared. I know now my mum and dad did everything they could to help me get better.
“The scars are a part of me now but I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.”
The 33-year-old mum of two continued: “I remember my husband had to take over undressing her for the bath as I was slowly breaking down.
“I remember stripping her off to see what had happened while my friend called 999.The call handler said put her in the bath so we did.
“I then sat in the bath with Rosie as she was in distress. I think at this point she was in total shock and was scared, she didn’t say a thing.”
The 4-year-old suffered burns going from the middle of her neck to her ear. Her eyelashes and fringe were both singed.
Rosie-May then spent five weeks in Morriston Hospital in Swansea being treated for her injuries.
The Children’s Burns Trust was a big support for Rosie-May and her family following the accident.
A spokesperson for the charity told The Drop: “Children’s Burns Trust was able to support Rosie-May and her family with an emergency support grant at the time of the accident.
In the years that followed Ellie and Rosie-May became ambassadors of the charity and continue to actively promote firework and burn safety.”
Ellie said: “Without the amazing support of Children’s Burns Trust I would have been totally lost, with the run up to Christmas they sent us a grant to help cover the costs of fuel back and forth for my husband, food for us both and hotel stays. This small gesture allowed us to ensure our children could have a magical Christmas despite the accident.”
Since her accident, Rosie-May has been doing assemblies in her school to help warn her classmates of the risks of fireworks and how misuse of them can cause real damage to people.
Information about emergency support grants is available on the Children’s Burns Trust website https://www.cbtrust.org.uk/
