An eight-year-old boy had a close shave with death after a freak accident while he was sleeping.
Lorenzo Lopez, from the US state of Kansas, was left with ‘excruciating’ burns after his chain necklace got caught between his phone charger and an extension cable.
He woke up after feeling heat on his neck and tried to scream but couldn’t.
But his quick thinking saved his own life as he managed to pull the chain off his neck while his t-shirt was on fire.
He told KWCH from his hospital bed that he ‘thought I was going to die’ and said the incident on November 20 was ‘just scary’.
Lorenzo said: ‘It was chaos, but I do remember some of it.’
His mum Kourtney Pendleton said: ‘Lorenzo rolled over in his sleep and his chain necklace just happened to fall in between where the gap was on the extension cord and the charger, which is what shocked him.’
Kourtney, who described her son as brave, said: ‘The other hospital, the lady had told him, had he not pulled that chain off, he would have been electrocuted to death. So he basically saved his own life.’
Lorenzo added: ‘I guess I saved myself and I’m happy about that.’
He was left with burns on his body, neck and hands – and has been scheduled to have skin graft surgery.
Kourtney said surgeons would take skin from his scalp, legs and feet for the procedure.
Lorenzo’s mother shared images on social media showing Lorenzo with severe burns across his torso – including a deep singe where the chain necklace burned his neck.
She wrote that her son was suffering ‘excruciating pain’ from the burns, and said ‘what he’s going through I would never wish on anyone’.
In a GoFundMe set up to help pay his medical bills, Kourtney said doctors expect Lorenzo to remain in hospital for at least two weeks to recover.
‘This is taking quite an emotional toll on him but he’s fighting hard like the tough, brave little boy he is — a true survivor,’ she wrote.
What is skin graft surgery?
According to The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, a skin graft is a healthy piece of skin which is taken from one area of the body and placed over the affected area.
The area where the healthy skin is taken from is known as the donor site.
The graft may be held in place by stitches or surgical glue.
Skin graft surgeries are performed when damaged skin needs to be replaced – such as when you have suffered a burn, trauma or need plastic or reconstructive surgery.
Kourtney signed off the fundraiser with a warning to other parents, saying ‘this was a terrifying, freak accident that could have happened to anyone’.
She added: ‘Parents — please, please don’t let your kids sleep with electronics or charging cords on their bed. It’s not worth the risk.’
In an update to the fundraiser on November 28, Kourtney said Lorenzo’s skin graft surgery was a success, but that he was left ‘in a lot of pain’.
She said: ‘He’s fighting through every moment with so much courage.
‘This has been such a heavy and emotional journey, but he’s holding on with a strength that inspires all of us.’
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