Eric and his mum Lucy before the accident. Photo / Caters
WARNING: Story contains graphic images
By Jos Weale for Caters
A brave mum has shared shocking pictures of her toddler's horrific burns to warn of dangers in the home after he pulled a jug of boiling water over himself - leaving him bandaged "like a mummy" and permanently scarred.
Little Eric Ward, now 2, had to undergo emergency surgery to have skin on his face, back and torso removed after the tragic accident, which happened at his Essex home days before his 2nd birthday.
The devastating burns happened on March 8 this year when a family member who had been caring for Eric was making up a bottle for the tot, says mum Lucy Smillie, 23.
Smillie says the family member moved to take away a glass bowl that the tot had pulled from a drawer and as she removed that danger, Eric slipped behind her and grabbed the jug, dousing himself in its boiling contents.
Smillie, who had been doing a driving lesson at the time, says the youngster endured searing pain and was put through weeks of torturous bandage changes that "changed our lives forever".
Eric now has to be lathered in cream four times a day and wear a pressure vest for two years to flatten the scarring.
The mum-of-one is determined to show that mistakes happen and to raise awareness of what to do in such a nightmarish situation.
Smillie, from Uckfield, East Sussex, said: "I was on a driving lesson, and [the unnamed family member] was watching him while my fiance Adam and I weren't home.
"She was putting on a bottle of milk for him, and as she was putting it on he had opened up the bottom drawer and taken out a glass bowl.
"She put the jug on the side and then as she went to take the bowl away he's gone right behind her, seen the bottle, and just gone for it and pulled the boiling water all over himself.
"I got a phone call from Adam saying there had been an accident and I need to get back home. He had no idea how bad it was.
"My driving instructor drove me back, and I just saw an ambulance and helicopter. It was all really scary.
"I could hear Eric crying from outside the ambulance. It was a worse cry than normal.
"He looked red like he had been crying - he goes very red anyway.
"It didn't look nice but it was nothing like how he looked when he came out of surgery later."
Lucy says the family were blue-lighted to Tunbridge Wells hospital in Pembury, and Eric was then transferred to Chelsea and Westminster hospital for emergency treatment.
And after two hours of theatre, Lucy says she and Adam Ward, also 23, were devastated at the sight of their little boy bandaged up "like a mummy".
Smillie, who works as a cleaner, said: "We were in absolute bits. It was just the worst thing in the world.
"He came back and he was wrapped up, he looked like a little mummy. I broke down. It was scary. You don't think something like that is going to happen.
"I think his face looked the worst, I couldn't see it ever getting any better, I thought he wasn't ever going to get his normal face back. We didn't know to what extent the scarring was going to be.
"The doctors said the surgery went really well, and said we'd done everything we had to do.
"We all stayed in hospital for just over a week, but when we got sent home is when it started to get even harder."
Smillie recalls weeks of trauma for the family, as she and carpenter Ward took it in turns to change their son's bandages three times as day, which made him scream in agony.
Smillie said: "In hospital the nurses would change his bandages, and that was hard enough as it was.
"But at home we had to do it ourselves.
"We had to put cream on his face and pull the scabs. His face would be bleeding. It was absolutely heart-breaking.
"It was so hard to not cry in front of him. We just had to be strong. I don't know how we did it, we just had to do it together. It was a struggle for both of us.
"For the first few days he wasn't really himself. He wouldn't speak, he was in complete shock. It was really hard and really hurtful to see.
"We had to keep him from being outside for two months because of the risk of infection, and he's a very big adventurer so that was hard."
Smillie and Ward finally began to see an improvement in Eric's injuries and demeanour as the months went by.
Now, five months after the accident, and with Eric expected to have permanent scarring around his collar bone, Lucy says they are trying to reclaim normality.
But she says the emotional impact is still raw for the family, and particularly for the family member who was on watch when Eric was burned.
Smillie said: "It was very bad for her, it still is now. She was trying to stop him from hurting himself with something else, and that's the thing, it can happen to anyone.
"I would like people to see that it can happen to anybody. You don't think until after it's happened.
"But you can't go through life thinking you've made a mistake. It's just one of those things.
"If she had been sitting there on her phone while this happened then I would be angry, but she was trying to stop him hurting himself.
"There might be hate from some people, people might say I'm a bad mum, but I hope nothing like this ever happens to them.
"If it does happen and the child has clothes on, then don't take them off because that's going to make it worse.
"Put them straight in tepid water, not cold water, because that will send their little bodies into shock. Then call an ambulance.
"Eric had just been wearing a nappy. My family member had thrown water on him straight away and then ran the bath and put him in.
"I don't know if I would have thought to have done that. If she hadn't it could have been so much worse. She saved him."
And Lucy says despite the challenges the family still face to maintain Eric's recovery, they draw comfort in the knowledge things could have been even worse.
Lucy said: "Everything has changed for us. It changes the way you look at everything in life, it puts everything into perspective.
"Eric now has to wear a pressure vest for the next two years. It looks a bit like a swim suit. It puts pressure on the scar and flattens it.
"For the next two years we have to do his cream four times a day. If we don't do that, his shoulders won't grow with the rest of his body.
"After a few days he started to get back to himself and started playing again. That was absolutely amazing to see.
"He doesn't say anything about it, but now and again he will go and look in the mirror and look at himself and touch his scar. Then he'll just walk off.
"If I can raise awareness and save one person from going through this by sharing these pictures then it's worth it."
'It was a shock to the system, but that's part of why I said I wanted to do it.'