Sofia Lacey’s story

When Sofia was only two years old, an accident at home left her with severe burns down her right arm. 

Sofia was sitting in the kitchen while her dad, Scott, was cooking dinner. She suddenly slipped off her stool, just as her dad was moving a hot pan away from the stove. Sofia fell forwards and knocked the pan over, tipping its boiling hot contents all over her arm. 

Sofia was scalded from her right shoulder to her knuckle. Her scared parents, Sian and Scott, rushed her to her local hospital, and she was then transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for specialist burns care. 

Sofia spent 15 days in our Burns Centre receiving treatment. She needed multiple operations, including two life-saving blood transfusions after she showed signs of sepsis or toxic shock, as well as skin grafts and wound cleaning. 

The world stopped for Sofia’s family. Her anxious parents sat constantly by their daughter’s bedside, not knowing what the next day would bring and how long it would take for their little girl to recover. 

Despite her terrible ordeal, Sofia amazed her family and clinicians by recovering more quickly than expected. Now nine years old, she is doing extremely well and continues to receive treatment at our Children’s Hospital, including occupational therapy and laser treatment to help her maintain her full range of motion and reduce scarring.  

Sian is full of thanks for the care their whole family received in a nightmare situation: “We were utterly distraught about Sofia’s accident, but the staff continually tried to help us and calm us. They were all amazing.” 

But while she’s deeply grateful for the continued compassion and expert treatment of our Burns Centre staff, Sian still remembers how the environment affected both her and her child: “It felt quite clinical, like a typical hospital ward. It would be better if it could feel a little more friendly and colourful. That would be slightly less daunting when you and your child are having such a hard time.” 

Supported by our £1.5m Burns Centre Appeal, plans for our Burns Centre include transforming the outpatient area, creating a new child-friendly reception to ease patient and family anxiety ahead of appointments. 

The transformation will also upgrade two new private rooms for burns patients who are at risk of infection, which is where Sofia spent the majority of her time in hospital. They will be more spacious with natural light, as well as featuring playful, child friendly designs to make the space feel less clinical. These changes make a huge difference for patients who are restricted to the room. 

Sian explains: “Sofia was in bed for a week and couldn’t get to the Centre’s playroom because of the risk of infection. Even though our room was private, we could still hear what was going on around us, and there weren’t any distractions apart from what the ward’s Play Worker brought with her. 

“Something nice to look at matters more than you think. You can show nice things around you to your child to distract them, and distraction is so important when children are unwell or in pain. It helps them stay calm and keep their mind off what’s going on.” 

As well as upgrading our private treatment rooms, our Burns Centre Appeal will create a dedicated laser treatment room, which is increasingly being used for burn and scar treatment. 

Sofia has shown signs of neurodiversity, and her mum feels a dedicated space would help her feel more at ease. 

“When Sofia goes in for laser treatment,” Sian explains, “it’s always in different places. For kids like her who struggle with change, being treated in a familiar space would make a difficult situation a bit easier to process and cope with.” 

Sian is fully behind our Burns Centre Appeal and believes the transformation will make the world of difference to patients like her daughter: “It’ll be so good to have an environment that’s friendly and welcoming,” she says, “especially for those children who are younger or neurodiverse and coming into the Burns Centre for the first time. It helps children feel a little more relaxed and familiar, and a little bit less scary in a scary moment.” 

“The Burns Centre has an amazing team, and they deserve the best clinical areas possible, so they can keep delivering incredible treatment.”

Find out more here