A woman in South Carolina had her hand amputated after a disastrous accident involving a hair dryer.
Mary Wilson was using her hairdryer before going to bed in the bathroom of her James Island home when she suddenly fainted and landed on top of the dryer.
When she woke up, she saw that the hairdryer, which was still running, had scorched her hand. The burns extended to the bone.
“It’s blowing that hot air. The burns on my hand were third degree burns. They were all to the bone,” Wilson said.
Wilson lay on the ground with her badly burned hand until her partner found her about 20 minutes later.
“She tells me, ‘your hand, your hand,'” Wilson said WCIV.
‘I look at my hand. I don’t even register, that’s part of me. It doesn’t even look recognizable.’
She was taken to hospital, where doctors discovered nerve damage so severe they were forced to amputate her hand and wrist.
The average hair dryer can reach temperatures of 150°F. According to the Arizona Department of Child Safety, exposure to 150°F water for just two seconds can cause third-degree burns in adults.
And according to an article published by the Danish Medical Association, hairdryer-related injuries are common in children:
‘Burns in children are common, occurring in approximately 5% of all children and in approximately half of these before the age of three.’
Mary Wilson of South Carolina lost her hand after suffering third-degree burns from her hair dryer
When she passed out, Wilson fell to the bathroom floor with the hair dryer still running, beneath her
Wilson’s hand and wrist were amputated after doctors discovered extensive nerve damage
After her tragic accident, Mary Wilson took on a more philosophical view of life.
“It really puts it into perspective a little bit: all the other issues I was dealing with in my life six months ago are so insignificant to the things I’m going through now, or the challenges I’m going to face.” in the future,” Wilson said.
She believed that a shock from the hairdryer could have caused the fainting.
Wilson said hair dryers, like other hair styling appliances that use heat, should turn off automatically.
‘You see it with hair straighteners and irons. They do have a ceramic plate, which turns off once it reaches a certain temperature. “If (the hair dryer) did, maybe my injuries wouldn’t have been as bad,” she said.
Prior to the accident, Wilson was a dog groomer, a career she misses and isn’t sure she can continue.
For her, the difficulty of her new situation lies in no longer being able to perform simple tasks.
“The biggest problem is that I can’t do the simple things I want to do, or things take a lot longer.”
Wilson, formerly a dog groomer, said the hardest part of her situation is not being able to “do the simple things.”
She believed that a shock from the hair dryer caused her to pass out on the bathroom floor
Wilson’s partner (right) found her on the ground twenty minutes later and alerted Wilson to her burned hand
But Wilson tries to remain optimistic and maintain an optimistic attitude.
‘I’m still going to enjoy life to the fullest. It’s just one hand. What is this? 10% of my body?’ Wilson said.
“Losing my hand may be something that changes who I am, but that doesn’t mean it defines me in everything,” Wilson continued.
She is looking forward to getting a prosthetic hand and is touched by the financial and emotional support she is receiving.
“It’s support I didn’t even know I had, and it definitely means a lot.”