According to SCMP, on October 14, Huang Jiamei, a 38-year-old housewife from Zhejiang province (China), was cooking in her kitchen when a gas tank leaked and suddenly exploded.
Her 2-year-old son, Xu Nuo, was outside the closed kitchen door at the time, crying for his mother. The explosion trapped him under the shattered door.
Video from a home surveillance camera posted by her husband shows Huang running out of the kitchen screaming in pain. However, the first thing she did was look for her son.
Despite the peeling skin on her hands, she gently picked up the boy and placed him in a safe place. Huang then called her husband and asked a neighbor to call the emergency hotline.
Her husband, Xu Xiaohui, a hairdresser, rushed home and was horrified to see his wife's hair singed, the skin peeling off her hands and feet swollen. Her face was also pale from the burns.
He said that on the way to the hospital, she kept asking about her son. She suffered second-degree burns covering 60-70% of her body. However, their son only suffered scratches on his back. Huang's habit of closing the kitchen door while cooking saved him from danger.
Dr. Jin Fang of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine said he could not imagine how Huang could care for his child so steadfastly and gently while suffering from severe burns. The doctor added that Huang is in critical condition.
On October 19, she underwent her first surgery to remove dead skin from severely burned parts of her body. Xu said his wife was in excruciating pain, but she seemed happier every time he showed her videos of their son.
After being shared, the video of the burned mother and her son caused strong emotions, attracting more than 9 million views on social networks. Huang’s family also received more than 1 million yuan (about 3.5 billion VND) in donations from benefactors for her treatment.
Some netizens left comments: "A mother's love is so great and selfless", "She must feel comforted knowing that her son only suffered minor injuries", "She is a brave mother. Hope that can help her get through the recovery process"...
