A Montrealer who suffered severe burns to her legs and 20% of her body feels very lucky not to have been disfigured after a barbecue exploded and wants to educate the population to exercise caution.
“It was extremely painful, the worst pain of my life,” says Renée Godbout with emotion. When it happened, I was wondering if I was going to survive it all. “
–
–
The 64-year-old woman blames herself today for using a liquid accelerant to fuel her barbecue on July 4, while she was cooking with her partner on their sailboat, on a beautiful summer evening.
“We were about to cook mackerel and I’m not sure what I thought. I put on some accelerant, then put the bottle down. I stirred the briquettes and a brand must have gone into them. Everything exploded on me ”, explains Mme Godbout.
Courtesy photo
The 60-year-old on the boat where the accident occurred.
–
–
–
Her lower body and part of the boat caught fire. The 60-year-old’s partner was elsewhere on the boat, and he was unable to reach the extinguisher due to the flames.
Switch off oneself
“There were five boats around and no one came to help us. I almost jumped into the water, but I couldn’t do this. Despite the pain, I went down into the hold to find the extinguisher to put out everything, it was our only chance to get out. Afterwards, I went to bed there, I was in so much pain, ”says the woman.
After what seemed like an “eternity” to her, they were finally able to reach dry land to be transported by ambulance to the Burns Unit of the Center hospitalier universitaire de Montréal (CHUM).
“I was very well received and taken care of. Afterwards, I had follow-ups, because it was necessary to see how the wounds developed, and to change the dressings ”, underlines Renée Godbout.
She was finally operated on on July 17th. Healthy skin has been grafted onto the areas that have suffered the most severe burns.
In addition to her legs, the lady also suffered injuries to her hands and armpit.
Photo provided by the CHUM
You can see the extent of the burns.
–
–
–
“It lasted six hours. It was really important as an operation, because otherwise my wounds would never have healed. And you see, the places where my “beautiful” skin was taken are already practically healed. But lucky it didn’t explode in my face, ”she consoles herself.
Rehabilitation
Since the surgery, Renée Godbout has undertaken a rehabilitation process. She was therefore transferred to the Villa Medica specialized hospital in Montreal.
“With the physiotherapist, we do a lot of exercises, especially for my ankles, which were affected the most. I can now move around without a walker, ”she rejoices.
She is eager to be able to regain her previous abilities and especially to start working again in her business, the La Queue De Cochon deli, on the Plateau-Mont-Royal.
“I also want to enjoy the summer. Getting back on the boat won’t be easy, but you have to face life, says Mme Godbout. But between you and me, I think I’ll throw the barbecue … ”
50% increase in burns while cooking
The director of the CHUM’s Grands Brûlés Unit is sounding the alarm in the face of a significant increase in incidents involving barbecues this summer and imploring the population to redouble their precautions.
“For the last month, there have been a lot of cases of burns due to accidents with barbecues, as well as cooking oil”, worries the Dr Ali Izadpanah.
The latter claims that there are at least between 40 and 50% more cases compared to last year.
Although the summer was marked by an increase in accidents with barbecues, the CHUM’s Grands Brûlés Unit has been operating at full capacity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, underlines its director.
“In the past five months we have never been so busy. We have twice as many patients, ”says Dr.r Izadpanah, who attributes the phenomenon to a sharp increase in stress among the population and the fact that people cook a lot more at home.
Frequent error
A “common mistake” grilling enthusiasts make is to add accelerant to flames to fuel them. It is to be avoided at all times, recalls the doctor.
“People can put the accelerant and then remove the container before lighting everything,” says the Dr Izadpanah.
Barbecue users should also make sure that they have not received any on them. However, even if a small area of skin has been burned from an accelerant or cooking oil, surgery is almost always necessary due to the severity of the injuries.
Transplant required
“It can affect almost all layers of the skin, which means that it requires a transplant,” says the doctor.
Especially since the hands are often involved in this type of accident and they require more care.
“The hands and face are the most difficult places to heal, since they are more delicate places”, explains Dr Izadpanah.
For burns with oil or an accelerant, the latter recommends not to put water on it to extinguish the flames, as the droplets could make the situation worse.
A blanket is preferred.
–
:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/4b4151e2-d483-11ea-8e0c-02c309bc01c1.jpg "Mouth mask on, mouth mask off in Baarle-Nassau | Inland")
