Last month, an explosion occurred while a 14-year-old girl was removing nail polish in her bedroom.
Fumes from the liquid remover allegedly got too close to an adjacent burning candle, leading the Ohio youngster, Kennedy, to catch fire. Her screams drew her siblings to their feet. They were able to get her out of the room and dialed 911.
“It was a horrific scene of her being covered in bubbles and welts and her skin being melted away,” Kennedy’s mother, Brandi, told People magazine recently of the early January event.
The terrifying occurrence left Kennedy with burns on 13% of her body, including her arm, hands, stomach, and thighs, according to Shriners Children’s Ohio in Dayton, where her family sought care.
Kennedy told Shriners that she had done her nails before school games many times previously — she is a cheerleader and plays the saxophone — and had never considered the flammability of the beauty items she used.
Her third-degree burns were treated with skin graft surgery, and Kennedy is still receiving physical and occupational therapy at the hospital. Her family is apparently unable to return home because of the fire.
According to the Shriners, “she hopes her story will serve as a reminder and a warning to other families about just how quickly vapors or fumes can spark a fire and cause serious injury.”
Kennedy’s doctors say she’s healing well.