A MUM was shocked to find out she was pregnant after waking up from a coma with half her body burned.
Sarita Cervantes, 30, was frying chicken for a family dinner when drops of grease splashed onto the kitchen floor and caused her to slip.
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Hot lard in the cooking pan splashed over 50 per cent of her body, and her husband, Manuel Cervantes, 32, burned himself too while trying to help her.
Sarita, who didn’t know she was expecting, was put into a coma and doctors warned her family she and her unborn baby would not survive.
Miraculously, Sarita defied the odds and went on to have a healthy baby called Ernesto.
The mum-of-three said: “To our relief, our son, Ernesto, was a stubborn, little fighter. He was stronger than his mum, and all of us put together.
“I may have been through the worst pain imaginable. But looking down at him, I know I also struck gold.”
In 2022, Sarita and Manuel, a stay-at-home dad, were happily married with two children, Jojo, 3, and Noelle, 2.
Sarita, from Arizona, US, said: “That summer, I was five months pregnant with twins and I lost the babies.
“I’d had 15 miscarriages in my life due to PCOS and endometriosis, and it broke our hearts a little more each time.
“By then, Manuel and I had given up hope and knew we’d never have any more children.”
The following year, in January 2023, Sarita and Manuel had invited his family round for a get-together.
Manuel’s family scattered around the house, and their little children played in the living room.
I was in agony and let out the loudest scream. My skin melted all over the kitchen floor. Then everything went black
Sarita Cervantes
She said: “Manuel was at the dining table chatting with me.
“I was about to make a special family recipe; fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and homemade white gravy.
“I started on the fried chicken first and sliced a large chunk of lard into the pot.
“But as the lard sizzled in the pan, some grease spat onto the floor. Suddenly, I slipped.
“My arm hit the handle of the pan, and as I landed onto the kitchen floor, burning hot lard splashed all over my body.
“I was in agony and let out the loudest scream. My skin melted all over the kitchen floor. Then everything went black.”
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Unbeknown to unconscious Sarita, the hot lard splashed onto her arms, legs, face, ears, scalp, breasts and stomach.
Manuel ran over and dragged her out of the grease. Stepping into the hot lard himself, he burned his knee, chin and both his feet.
Manuel’s family members called an ambulance, and Sarita and Manuel were airlifted to a burns unit.
Planning the funerals
Sarita was put into an induced coma, having burned nearly 50 per cent of her body. Doctors explained lard gets twice as hot as normal cooking oil.
But more shockingly, doctors discovered she was 13 weeks pregnant.
When they told Manuel, who was recovering from his own burns in another unit, it was deemed a low chance she and the baby would survive.
For the next few weeks, Sarita’s family began planning her and the unborn baby’s funerals.
Meanwhile, they allowed Manuel, who had burned 23 per cent of his body, to recover next to her in bed.
But in a miraculous turn, Sarita finally awoke from the coma in February 2023.
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She said: “As I opened my eyes, I turned and saw Manuel lay on a hospital bed next to mine.
“He teared up and explained everything. I couldn’t believe it.
“I kept telling myself I was alive and that everything was okay. I’d been a paramedic for ten years before.
“I’d seen how bad these things could get, so I knew how lucky I was.
“But then, Manuel told me I was pregnant. I didn’t believe him at first.
“One moment I’d been cooking a family dinner. The next, I’d woken up from a coma pregnant.
“I wasn’t happy though. I was filled with dread as I was convinced the baby wouldn’t make it. I’d suffered so much loss already.”
A difficult pregnancy
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After that, Sarita discovered she’d undergone 27 surgeries and at one point, doctors had wanted to amputate her arm.
They began monitoring the baby obsessively, especially whilst she had more skin grafts and operations.
She added: “A week later, Manuel and I went to different rehab centres.
“When I was learning to walk, eat and do everything again, I felt a kick in my stomach.
“I realised the baby was really there and I cried. It was my little miracle. If I had died, the baby would’ve too. As I recovered each day, nurses kept monitoring the baby.
“They checked the heartbeat and did ultra-sounds constantly. Every single time, I had a pit in my stomach but it was in there alive and kicking.
“It felt too good to be true.”
Every single ultra-sound, I had a pit in my stomach but it was in there alive and kicking. It felt too good to be true.
Sarita Cervantes
The next month, Manuel and Sarita discovered it was a boy.
In April 2023, Sarita was discharged from hospital at five months pregnant.
At home, her last trimester was agony because her body temperature wasn’t normal due to the burns.
Sarita, who works for a facility safety authority, said: “I kept passing out everywhere and had extreme morning sickness. I’d also only been tube fed in hospital, so the baby didn’t have enough nutrition.
“Also, I’d lost 70lbs, which was unhealthy and dangerous during a pregnancy. When I was eight months pregnant, I was admitted back to hospital.
“They stabilised me and the baby for a week before I was rushed in for a C-section. But it was five weeks too early.”
‘My little miracle’
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That week, in July 2023, Sarita gave birth to baby Ernesto, now 11 months old.
She said: “Seeing his little face, after everything we’d been through together, was incredible.
“But, he was very undeveloped. We had many complications and ended up staying by his side in ICU.
“Thankfully he was a strong boy and he fought hard. He’d come this far and he wasn’t going to back down. We finally took him home and he was healthy.
“But trying to heal, physically and mentally, from being a burn survivor, as well as looking after a newborn, took its toll.
“I had to relearn how to be a mum, even with my older kids. I couldn’t brush their hair or clean diapers. I couldn’t even cut my own food, and had help with everything.
“Manuel himself was recovering and had to use a walking frame for a while. Whilst I had limited mobility in my arms.
“But, we somehow got through it. Funnily enough, it has made us even stronger. Now, Ernesto is doing great. He’s 11 months old, and I know he’ll do big things when he’s older.
“I struggle with my scars and self-image , but Manuel helps me and always tells me how beautiful I am.”
How to treat burns
Your skin has three layer; the outer layer (epidermis), the dermis (which contains vessels, nerves, hair follicles) and the deeper layer of fat (subcutis).
A full thickness burn is when all layers of skin are damaged, while a superficial burn is when only the top layer has been effected.
The NHS says to treat a burn:
- Immediately get the person away from the heat source
- Remove any clothing or jewellery, including babies’ nappies, but do not move anything that’s stuck to the skin
- Cool the burn with cool or lukewarm running water for 20 to 30 minutes – do not use ice, iced water, or any creams or greasy substances like butter
- Make sure the person keeps warm by using a blanket, for example
- After cooling the burn, cover the burn by placing a layer of cling film over it – a clean plastic bag could also be used for burns on your hand
- Use painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
- Raise the affected area if possible to reduce swelling
- If it’s an acid or chemical burn, dial 999, carefully try to remove the chemical and any contaminated clothing, and rinse the affected area using as much clean water as possible
You should go to a hospital A&E department for:
- All chemical and electrical burns
- Large or deep burns – any burn bigger than the injured person’s hand
- Burns that cause white or charred skin – any size
- Burns on the face, neck, hands, feet, any joints or genitals
