My five-year-old daughter’s face ‘melted’ after game of tag went wrong – horror photos are a warning to all parents

A mother said her daughter suffered a horrific injury when a game of tag went wrong and a bowl of boiling ramen accidentally spilled on her head.

Amber Peters, 34, was in her bedroom doing laundry on April 5 while her daughter Brixx Lee, 5, played with her other siblings in their home.

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As Brixx ran through the kitchen to chase her brother, Peters said the young girl bumped into her older sister, 12-year-old Nahla Peters, taking a bowl of hot ramen from the microwave, which accidentally spilled on her head.

Moments later, Peters heard a “blood-curdling” scream and ran to discover the girl’s skin “melting” off her face.

Horrifying photos show the right side of Brixx’s face and ear, exposing pink skin from the accident.

The mother of five immediately called 911 and Brixx was taken by ambulance to the local emergency room, where she was given painkillers and sedated.

The 5-year-old was then transferred to the Springfield Burn Center at Mercy Hospital in Missouri, where her dead skin was removed so doctors could assess the extent of her burns.

Peters, a clothing store owner, says doctors said Brixx suffered second-degree burns and may need a skin graft, but will not be scarred for life.

Peters, who lives in Joplin, Missourisaid: “Brixx ran into my 12-year-old daughter, Nahla, which caused her to drop the ramen, which spilled onto the top of her head and the right side of her face and ear.

“The ramen had just come out of the microwave and was basically like plain soup and hot water.

“Nahla screamed, and then I heard a blood-curdling scream from my 5-year-old son and a cry, and you never hear that sound unless he is seriously injured.

“When I heard this, I jumped up and ran over there, and found her in great pain and screaming. I looked at her skin and it had already started to melt off her face.

“I screamed and couldn’t stop because it was so shocking what I was looking at, and then I realized how bad the situation was.”

Peters added: “My daughter is half black. I could tell that the skin on her face was melting because she had a lot of melanin on her face, and the brown part was melting away, revealing the white skin underneath.

“It was like a light pink underneath, but the peeling skin was brown.

“When we arrived at the emergency room, Brixx was immediately given an IV and given painkillers to sedate her so she wouldn’t feel the burn.

“They then took her in an ambulance to Springfield, to the burn unit there.

“They immediately sedated her so she didn’t feel anything. As a parent, you don’t want your child to feel pain.

“They then did a debridement. This is where they remove all the dead skin so they can look at the new skin underneath and see how severe the burns are.

“She has second-degree burns and so they said based on how she heals, it will depend on whether she needs a skin graft, but we hope not.”

After being sent home the next day, Brixx’s injuries subsided overnight, and she woke up Sunday morning unable to see because her eyes were closed and swollen.

‘THE ENTIRE LEFT SIDE Swollen’

Brixx was then rushed back to hospital where she underwent a CT scan, which showed she had suffered significant damage to her facial tissues.

She was then given antibiotics and an ointment to apply to the burns and was discharged to recover at home.

Peters said: “When we got home from hospital on Saturday things changed and she refused overnight.

“On Sunday morning, she woke up and could not see, as both of her eyes were closed and swollen and the entire left side of her face was swollen.

“This was caused by the fluid from the burns and the plasma. Your body produces plasma naturally and it leaks out when you get burned, but if you don’t clean it up as it drains, it builds up.”

After the accident, Brixx underwent another operation because her burns were not healing properly, but doctors said she will not need a skin graft.

Peters is now encouraging other parents to consider kitchen safety in their own homes and the safety of hot food around children.

She said: “As a mother, it’s devastating because you can’t avoid the inevitable.

“Accidents happen every day and I don’t want parents to think it can’t happen to them, but I also don’t want them to [parents] blaming themselves and thinking it’s their fault.

“There was nothing I could have done to prevent this, except maybe not let my 12-year-old daughter make her own ramen.

“This is now a rule in my house. We will now make all of our food hot at home for all of our children, no matter their age.

“In terms of warning other parents, I want to tell them not to blame themselves as accidents happen every day, but I want to tell them to be more cautious about even the smallest things that can happen in the blink of an eye.”

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