Milli was rushed to an emergency room where her burns were assessed before she was transferred to Shriners Children’s Hospital Ohio in Dayton later that night with second and third-degree burns to her chest, arms, face and neck.
Shriners Children’s Hospital Ohio treated 600 new burns in 2024 and 17% of those were from fireworks, grills or fire pits.
Doctors at the Dayton hospital said during summer months and warm holidays that call for exposure to hot surfaces or liquids, children can be put at risk leading to burn-related injuries, ranging from acute to severe.
Dr. Sara M. Higginson, chief of staff at Shriners Children’s Ohio, said that education on burn safety should begin when a child can comprehend a hot surface, what not to touch and safety areas surrounding heat exposure.
She said most of the burns she treats are on children before school age, or under 5 years old.
“The most common burn injury for burn children under 10 years old is hot liquid,” Higginson said. “If you kind of eliminate all possibilities of hot liquid that would be setting your home water heater at 120 and not higher, you really reduce your risk of having a bathroom or kitchen faucet, hot liquid injury.”
If a burn injury occurs, Higginson recommends running cool water over the burn for 20 minutes, then applying a bandage followed by immediate medical attention.
As a result of no medical treatment, long-term effects of burns can include scarring and functional limitations growing with the child as their body parts develop and grow. Shriners provides scar checks for scar management at six months to one year after the injury.
“A tiny little burn on a hand is going to stay kind of the same ratio of size to the hand as the hand grows,” Higginson said. “A lot of these areas don’t grow with the child, so they develop contractures and areas of limitation, or thick, lumpy, chunky scars.”
Novelty fireworks, such as sparklers, pose as a huge risk leading to potential burn injury. Hot enough to melt metal, sparklers can burn up to 2,000 degrees.
“With the unpredictability of sparklers, they can quickly ignite clothes or drop onto the feet and legs of children and cause severe burns,” Higginson said in a recent Shriners press release.
Stovetops and bonfires remain one of the most common burn injuries alongside fireworks in the summer. Fire accelerants used to ignite stovetops and bonfires produce flammable vapor that remains flammable while in the air, this poses a large chance of burn injury.
Milli said she felt overwhelmed when she arrived at the hospital but added the nurses at Shriners made her feel safe and taken care of, quickly and carefully. After undergoing numerous surgeries, she began physical therapy three to four weeks after her injury as an inpatient and after she was discharged.
The therapy included specific stretches, helping Milli progress, gaining full mobility in her neck and arms.
Her physical therapist and child life specialist at Shriners helped Milli realize that her burns would not change who she was as a person.
“They might change, they might give me a little scar or whatever, but that doesn’t make me any less beautiful than I was before.” Milli said.
Milli’s father, Robbie Bennett, recalls the care Shriners provided by the staff.
“I’m just blessed that we were in that establishment and at the best place that we could be in at the time,” Robbie said. “It was really just heartwarming.”
He said his daughter’s accident was one of the hardest things he had to deal with in his life.
“She is just so positive about things and so inspirational. I can’t even explain it. It, it’s hard,” Robbie said.
Shriners provides specialized pediatric care, as well as dressings and supplies regardless of ability to pay. Patients can also receive transportation to and from hospital visits to support families in ways they need.
Almost a year since Milli’s accident, she reflects on how she has continued to heal.
“It gets so much better, my burns have really improved in how they look. I feel so much better about myself, all because I continue to take care of myself even when it was really difficult,” Milli said.
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