Wisconsin girl who suffered third degree burns learns how to walk, write and ballet

August 3, 2016

Mia Schley suffered burns to 60 per cent of her body in the accident
She was incubated for a month and given heavy drugs to numb the pain
But now the five-year-old can play sports after relearning how to walk
Mia has got used to her scars and tells everyone her burns are beautiful

Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
07:16 EST, 3 August 2016

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Updated:
07:36 EST, 3 August 2016

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A five-year-old girl suffered horrific burns covering more than half of her body after tripping over and dumping boiling hot oil over herself.

Mia Schley had the terrible accident when she was three, which left her with third degree burns covering 60 per cent of her body.

She had to be incubated for a month and was given heavy drugs to help numb the pain.

She had to be incubated for a month and was given heavy drugs to help numb the pain (left). But now after recovering (right) she leads a normal life just like any other child her age

Mia Schley was left with 60 per cent third degree burns after plummeting into a fryer filled with boiling hot oil when she was three, pictured as a ballerina after learning how to walk

Weeks later she had skin graft surgery to take it from the backs of her legs and cover the areas of her body with burns.

And now Mia, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has recovered from her ordeal and can even play sports and has taken up ballet after relearning how to walk.

Her family say she now leads a normal life like any other child her age after being signed off from physical and occupational therapy three months ago.

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When her mother Ainsley, 25, found out what had happened to her daughter, she said she froze, not knowing what to do.

All she could hear was her daughter screaming in pain.

She said: ‘When I saw her body all of her skin was gone – I could see she was burned from head to toe.

‘It was the worst sight you could possibly imagine on your own child. Her hands were burned the worst, they didn’t have very much skin left on them.’

Mia suffered burns to her face, neck and torso, but the worst affected area was her hands where most of the skin had been scorched by the hot oil.

The accident happened after Mia awoke from taking a nap at her grandparent’s house.

The girl from Milwaukee, Wisconson, was signed off from physical and occupational therapy three months ago. Now she can even play sports (right) after relearning how to walk (left)

Her mother, Ainsley, 25, said: ‘I was worried she would look at herself as ugly or less of a person because of her burns’

She ran outside, tripped over an extension cable and fell towards the table where her family had been deep frying chicken wings.

When she fell over, she pulled the table and dumped all of the scorching oil over her body.

Ms Schley was concerned her daughter’s burns would ruin her life, leaving her emotionally traumatised and embarrassed, but she amazed her.

She said: ‘Nothing stops her, she went through a lot of physical therapy but now she runs everywhere.

‘She tends to stumble and trip a lot, but she acts like any other kid her age – she just wants to be like everybody else.

‘She dealt with it really well considering everything she went through, she has the most amazing personality and is beyond amazing.

Mia, suffered burns to her face, neck and torso, but the worst affected area was her hands where most of the skin had been scorched by the hot oil

After her skin graft, she initially struggled to look at her fingers and palms due to their graphic appearance, but over time she has grown to love them

‘I was worried she would look at herself as ugly or less of a person because of her burns.

‘Since her accident she’s overcome so much and now even plays in sports teams, so I’m sure that her burns won’t stop her from doing anything – she really is my inspiration.’

When the doctors unwrapped her hands for the first time, Mia was terrified.

But over time they have recovered – despite still being able to see a difference in colour between the skin graft and her normal skin.

But her mother said Mia has got used to them and tells everyone she can her scars and burns are beautiful.