Toddler recovering from hot-water burns

Little Melia O'Neil is recovering from her third skin graft after being badly burned by hot water in her home earlier this month.

Melia, who's 17 months old, suffered third-degree burns over 39 percent of her body after she climbed into a bathroom sink and turned on the hot water the night of Jan. 3.

Her mother, Lisa Kotouc, said she was outside the house with the family's new puppy for about three minutes when it happened.

By the time Kotouc got back inside, Melia's life had changed forever.

Investigators found that the water heater in the rental home at 1623 10th Ave. SW was set at 135 degrees, about 15 degrees higher than is recommended.

“It just breaks your heart,” police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said.

Kotouc, 24, is still second-guessing herself. What if the water temperature had been set correctly? What if the dog hadn't had an accident and needed to go outside? What if she had closed the bathroom door?

Kotouc, a single mother, moved into the home four weeks before the accident. Melia had been playing with her toys in the living room when Kotouc went outside with the dog. When Kotouc came back inside, she heard Melia crying and ran to the bathroom.

“I saw her in the sink, and the water was running,” Kotouc said. “I thought it was cold water, but then I saw the steam.”

Melia had climbed onto the toilet and then stepped into the sink.

Panicked, Kotouc grabbed Melia and got into a cold shower with her. Her only daughter seemed lethargic, and her legs were pink.

Kotouc first called a 24-hour nurse but was put on hold for several minutes. She changed Melia and drove to the emergency room at St. Luke's Hospital, where she waited for about 15 minutes, she said.

Nurses were taking Melia's blood pressure and temperature when Kotouc showed them the burns.

“Just from the ten- to fifteen-minute drive from my house to the hospital, her legs turned from pink to bright red,” Kotouc said.

Doctors questioned Kotouc at the hospital. She answered between sobs. Melia's father, Jason O'Neil, arrived. Melia was flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

“They put her on morphine and wrapped her in plastic,” Kotouc said.

Kotouc and O'Neil were able to see Melia at the Iowa City hospital for a moment, but then police intervened.

“It reminded me of a show like ‘Law & Order,'” Kotouc said. “They tried to play games with me, saying my story didn't match her burns. They showed me pictures of her burns. I was crying the whole time, but I just told the truth.”

Melia had climbed into the sink before but had never turned on the water, Kotouc said, adding that each time she'd say, “No, no” to the child. She said she never thought Melia would turn on the water.

Police decided not to file charges against Kotouc, who was the only one home with Melia at the time, but the Department of Human Services is still looking into the case.

Melia faces a long road to recovery. Aside from the area her diaper protected, the hot water scalded her from her feet to her lower stomach, Kotouc said.

Melia wears braces to keep her legs straight and protective boots on her feet. Physical therapists help her walk and stretch her muscles daily, so they don't contract.

Melia handles her daily baths admirably, Kotouc said. When she's in Kotouc's arms, she smiles and giggles, but anything else is hell.

“It hurts for her to move,” Kotouc said. “She says, ‘Owie!'”

Water at 140 degrees can cause severe burns to a child in just three seconds, according to Dr. James Matsuda, a pediatrician at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that water heaters be set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

In 2008, nearly 60,000 children ages 4 and younger were treated for burns at hospital emergency rooms, according to a national estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Younger children have thinner skin and can burn much more quickly than adults.

Melia faces a few more weeks at the Iowa City hospital and another skin graft, followed by more physical therapy, her mother said.

“This isn't just something that's going to pass in a couple months,” Kotouc said. “This is going to affect her for the rest of her life. I feel a tremendous amount of guilt because I was the one who was watching her.”