Ruby dancing her way back after burns
A young dancer is back ‘en pointe’ after being treated for oil burns from Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH).
Ruby Burton, 14, from Wolverhampton, received severe burns when hot oil splashed onto her foot in her kitchen at home.
Her Mum, Linda, said: “Ruby asked to put garlic bread into the oven, but there was a tray of oil still in the oven. Ruby went to move it and hot oil splashed onto her foot. She screamed ‘my ankle’ but still pushed the tray back into the oven. My husband grabbed the mop bucket and was pouring cold water out of the sink onto the burn.
“The burn started out small at first, so we continued to keep it under cold water and we wrapped it in cling film and applied ice cold compresses until the pain subsided around 1am. The next day there were big blisters on her feet, so we took her to hospital, they drained the blisters and passed us onto Birmingham Children’s Hospital.”
The Burn Unit at BCH dressed the wounds daily at first, then developed signs of cellulitis a few days later and was admitted to the specialist centre. It was agreed that she would need skin from her leg to be grafted on her foot in three places to allow the wounds to heal.
Linda explained: “She came out of the hospital the day before her older sister’s birthday, and the hospital had then managed her dressings, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. When she came out of hospital her full leg was bandaged and she was on crutches.”
Being on crutches was a blow to Ruby who is a talented young dancer.
Linda said: “She has always been a dancer, and she was gutted that she couldn’t go back straight away. By mid-November, she returned to dancing after many physio appointments.
“She does ballet, tap, street, jazz, contemporary and lyrical dancing and has danced since she was 2, so it was a big thing that she couldn’t go straight back to dancing.”
After working with the Burns Team, Ruby returned to dancing and was part of dance teams that reached the All-England Championships finals and qualified for the Dance World Cup
Linda said: “She is even back en pointe which I definitely didn’t think she would be doing this quickly, I thought it would take at least three years.”
During her stay at BCH Ruby was a pioneer in the Burns team, being one of the first patients to test out the team’s use of virtual reality (VR) headsets. The team use VR to distract patients under local anaesthetic while dressings are changed, which can be an upsetting experience for a young patient. It also avoids the use of general anaesthetic, which means that the patient doesn’t need to be put to sleep for the procedure.
Ruby said: “Everyone at the hospital has been really lovely and helped me. I’m excited to get back to dancing.”
Linda added: “The team in the Burns unit have been absolutely brilliant. They make Ruby feel comfortable and relaxed the whole time she is there. The team are so reassuring, nice and welcoming. We can’t fault it. We are so grateful for everything the team has done for Ruby and continues to do now.”
Clare Thomas, Lead Nurse in the Burns Centre, spoke about the importance of acting quickly when someone receives burns. She said: “We are so pleased that Ruby is recovering from her burn injury and has been able to return to dancing - something that she loves.
“We see and treat many children and young people that have sustained a burn, the immediate treatment given after the accident is really important and we advise following the Three C's- Cool the burn, Cover with clingfilm and Call 111 or 999 for assistance.
“We wish Ruby and her family all the best for the future and we’re glad they had a positive experience when being treated by the Burns Centre Team. We are always looking at new and innovative ways of helping patients and families following a burn injury and are grateful that Ruby participated in using the VR technology giving her feedback so we can progress the care and treatment we give.”
Ruby’s advice for any patients currently being treated for a burn is simple: “Don’t stop believing that you will recover, even when you might doubt it, because you will make it through your darkest moments.”