A mother who woke up from a coma with half of her body burned in a freak accident has revealed she was shocked to discover she was also pregnant.
Sarita Cervantes, 30, was frying chicken for a family dinner in January last year when drops of grease fell to the kitchen floor and she slipped.
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The hot lard in the pan splashed over 50% of the mother’s body, and her husband, Manuel Cervantes, 32, was also burned while saving his wife.
Doctors warned the family that both Sarita and the fetus would die, prompting them to prepare for the funeral.
But miraculously, Sarita survived and the couple had a miraculous, healthy baby, Ernesto.
Sarita, who works for a facilities security authority, says: “To our relief, our son, Ernesto, was a stubborn little fighter. He was stronger than his mother and all of us combined.
“Maybe I went through the worst pain imaginable. But looking at it, I know I also found gold.”
As of 2022, Sarita and Manuel, a stay-at-home dad, are happily married and have two children, Jojo, 3, and Noelle, 2.
Sarita from Arizona, USA says: “That summer I was five months pregnant with twins and lost the babies.
“I have had 15 miscarriages in my life due to PCOS and endometriosis, and it breaks our hearts a little more each time.
“By this time, Manuel and I had given up hope and knew we would never have children again.”
The following year, in January 2023, Sarita and Manuel invited the family to a get-together.
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Manuel’s family was spread out throughout the house and his young children played in the living room.
Sarita says: “Manuel was at the dinner table talking to me.
“I was about to make a special family recipe; fried chicken, mashed potatoes and homemade white sauce.
“I started with the fried chicken first and cut a large piece of lard into the pan.
I was in agony and let out the loudest scream. My skin melted all over the kitchen floor. Then everything went black
Sarita Cervantes
“But as the lard sizzled in the pan, some fat spat out onto the floor. Suddenly I slipped.
“My arm hit the handle of the pan and when I fell to the kitchen floor, hot lard splashed all over my body.
“I was in agony and let out the loudest scream. My skin melted all over the kitchen floor. Then everything went black.”
Unbeknownst to the unconscious Sarita, the hot lard splashed onto her arms, legs, face, ears, scalp, breasts and stomach.
Manuel ran and dragged her out of the fat. Stepping into the hot lard, he burned his knee, chin and both feet.
Manuel’s family called an ambulance and Sarita and Manuel were transported by helicopter to a burns unit.
Planning the funerals
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Sarita was placed in a medically induced coma, having burned almost 50% of her body. They explained that lard burned twice as hot as regular cooking oil.
But the most shocking thing is that doctors discovered that she was pregnant.
They informed Manual, who was recovering from her own burns in another unit, that Sarita was 13 weeks old and that the chance of her and the baby surviving was considered low.
In the following weeks, Sarita’s family began planning her and her unborn baby’s funeral.
How to treat burns
Your skin has three layers; the outer layer (epidermis), the dermis (which contains vessels, nerves, hair follicles) and the deepest layer of fat (subcutaneous).
A full-thickness burn occurs when all layers of the skin are damaged, while a superficial burn occurs when only the top layer is affected.
The NHS says to treat a burn:
- Immediately move the person away from the heat source
- Remove all clothing or jewelry, including baby diapers, but do not move anything that is stuck to the skin
- Cool the burn with cold or lukewarm running water for 20 to 30 minutes – do not use ice, ice water or any creams or fatty substances such as butter
- Make sure the person stays warm by using a blanket, e.g.
- Once the burn has cooled, cover it by placing a layer of plastic wrap over it – a clean plastic bag can also be used for hand burns
- Use pain relievers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
- Lift the affected area if possible to reduce swelling
- If it is an acid or chemical burn, dial 999, try to carefully remove the chemical and any contaminated clothing, and rinse the affected area with as much clean water as possible.
You should go to a hospital emergency room to:
- All chemical and electrical burns
- Large or deep burns – any burn larger than the injured person’s hand
- Burns that cause white or charred skin – any size
- Burns to the face, neck, hands, feet, joints or genitals
Meanwhile, they allowed Manual, who burned 23% of his body trying to save her, to recover next to her in bed.
But, miraculously, Sarita finally woke up from her coma in February 2023.
Sarita says: “When I opened my eyes, I turned around and saw Manuel lying in a hospital bed next to mine.
“He cried and explained everything. I couldn’t believe it.
“I kept telling myself that I was alive and that everything was fine. I was a paramedic for ten years before.
“I had seen how bad these things could get, so I knew how lucky I was.
“But then Manuel told me I was pregnant. I didn’t believe him at first.
“One moment I was preparing a family dinner. The next day, I woke up pregnant from the coma.
“But I wasn’t happy. I was terrified because I was convinced the baby wouldn’t survive. I have already suffered so many losses.”
He almost had his arm amputated
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After that, Sarita discovered that she had undergone 27 surgeries and at one point, doctors wanted to amputate her arm.
They began monitoring the baby obsessively, especially as she had more skin grafts and operations.
Sarita says: “A week later, Manuel and I went to different rehabilitation centers.
“When I was learning to walk, eat and do everything again, I felt a kick in my stomach.
At every ultrasound, I had a hole in my stomach, but it was there, alive and strong. It seemed too good to be true.
Sarita Cervantes
“I realized the baby was really there and I cried. It was my little miracle. If I had died, the baby would have died too. As I recovered, each day the nurses continued to monitor the baby.
“They checked the heartbeat and did ultrasounds constantly. Every time I had a pit in my stomach, but it was there, alive and strong.
“It was too good to be true.”
The following month, Manuel and Sarita discovered it was a boy.
In April 2023, Sarita was discharged from hospital five months pregnant.
At home, her last trimester was agony because her body temperature was not normal due to the burns.
Sarita says: “I was fainting everywhere and had extreme morning sickness. I was also only tube fed at the hospital, so the baby didn’t have enough nutrition.
“Plus, I lost 30 pounds, which was unhealthy and dangerous during pregnancy. When I was eight months pregnant, I was admitted back to the hospital.
“They stabilized me and the baby for a week before I was rushed for a C-section. But it was five weeks too early.”
‘My little miracle’
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That week, in July 2023, Sarita gave birth to baby Ernesto, now 11 months old.
Sarita says: “Seeing his face, after everything we had been through together, was incredible.
“But he was very underdeveloped. We had many complications and ended up staying by his side in the ICU.
“Luckily he was a strong boy and fought hard. He’d come this far and he wasn’t going to back down. We finally got him home and he was healthy.
“But trying to heal, physically and mentally, from being a burn survivor, as well as caring for a newborn, took its toll.
“I had to relearn how to be a mother, even with my older children. I couldn’t brush her hair or clean diapers. I couldn’t even cut my own food and I had help with everything.
“Manuel himself was recovering and had to use a walker for some time. Although I had limited mobility in my arms.
“But somehow we got through it. Interestingly, this has made us even stronger. Now, Ernesto is doing very well. He is 11 months old and I know he will do great things when he is older.
“I struggle with my scars and self-image, but Manuel helps me and always tells me how beautiful I am.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
