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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
Mark Smith & Hannah Mackenzie Wood

Young girl left fighting for life after horror deep fat fryer accident

A young girl nearly died and was left with burns on 38% of her body after knocking the boiling hot contents of a deep fat fryer over herself.

Grace Shaw was just five-years-old when the horror incident took place while she was playing with her little sister, Farrah.

The two girls were in the kitchen-diner of their home in Talbot Green on April 28, 2016 when Grace fell and pulled down the deep fat fryer - covering herself in the searing hot oil.

She suffered third-degree burns to parts of her head, back, arms, legs and feet, with the unimaginable pain sending her into shock.

Dad Gary Shaw immediately covered Grace in a damp towel before called mum Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones who worked in a restaurant five minutes away from their house.

Thanks to the "incredible" care she received from medics in Royal Glamorgan Hospital's A&E, the youngster pulled through.

Recalling the horrendous ordeal, Toni-Marie said: "Before I had gone to work I had put the deep fat fryer on and cut some chips ready to put in it.

"After the chips had been made I had put the fryer to cool on the counter. It had been turned off for about 20 minutes when the accident happened. I was later told the fryer's contents still would have been 180 to 190 degrees.

Grace before the accident. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)
Grace with her sister Farrah before the accident. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)

"When I got home, Grace was just shaking and screaming in pain and kept on saying 'I'm dying, I'm dying'. We didn't even wait for an ambulance - we just drove her to A&E ourselves."

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW

When Gary arrived at the doors of A&E with Grace cradled in his arms, Toni-Marie said they were taken straight into a side room where they were surrounded by medical staff.

Grace almost died from her serious injuries. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)
Grace with her mum Toni-Marie. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)

"They were fabulous. We had eight doctors and five nurses all around her," she said.

"Grace had to be ventilated and sedated before being taken by ambulance to Bristol Children's Hospital."

The back of Grace's head was very badly burnt. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)
Grace in hospital. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)

For the first 13 hours of arriving in Bristol, doctors carried out emergency skin grafts on Grace and tried to stabilise her condition.

She was then sedated for three days and spent a fortnight in intensive care as medics carried out skin grafts and procedures every other day.

"It was touch and go for weeks whether she'd make it. She could have picked up infections at any time," said Toni-Marie, who stayed in the Ronald McDonald accommodation on site in Bristol while juggling her commitments to younger daughter Farrah.

"But when she came round from the sedation, looked at me and said 'I want black pop and raspberries' we knew she was going to pull through. She's just so strong and independent."

Grace, aged 10, with her mum Toni-Marie. (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
A GoFundMe page has been set up to try and get Grace a new hair system. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)

Grace spent three months in Bristol before she was discharged, and now has regular appointments at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

Now aged 11 Grace, who loves dancing, is now flourishing despite everything she's been through.

But growing her hair remains an issue.

Grace is now a student at Y Pant Comprehensive School in Pontyclun. (Toni-Marie Grundy-Jones)

"Grace has a large area of her head that can no longer grow back because the hair follicles and fat tissue is permanently damaged," said Toni-Marie, who now lives in Llanharry, Pontyclun.

"She was kindly gifted a hair system in November 2020 by Jayne Bonds, of Bonds and Co in Penygraig, who read our story on WalesOnline and reached out to us on Facebook.

"Unfortunately, Grace's system has some damage to the scalp, which means her system needs to be repaired in Italy. Her head has also grown quite a bit. This means Grace would have to be without hair for roughly two months and being in high school this will be a huge confidence knock to her."

A GoFundMe page has been set up to try and get Grace a new hair system. To donate please go here.

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