baby

'It happened in a split second, and there was nothing we could do. Nothing at all.'

A Queensland family set off for a year on the road but their journey came to an abrupt halt after their baby boy was severely burnt in a “freak accident”.

Kerrie and Mick Hall planned a long caravan coast trip with their four children from their home in Rockhampton, Queensland, to Tasmania.

The family of six – including four boys, Haedin, 12, Cody, 10, Joel, six, and Hunter, 17 months – got as far as Landsborough.  They were set for a trip to Australia Zoo, but it never happened.

“We started the kettle on the caravan stove and Hunter pulled the [oven] door open,” Kerrie Hall told Mamamia.

“As he pulled the door open, the kettle tipped on top of him.”

The caravan’s kitchenette had two hotplates above an oven with a door that opened to the side.

“I automatically ripped off his t-shirt, I screamed for my husband and opened the fridge and started getting water on him,” the Queensland mother said.

“All the kids and Mick came running. We got water on him straight away.”

The parents then rushed baby Hunter to the closest hospital in Caloundra, where he received three hours of treatment before being transferred via ambulance to Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital for surgery.

The 17-month-old had severely burnt 12 per cent of his body.  He was in extreme pain and his mother was also in agony.

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Hunter was hurt in "an instant". Image supplied.

Three days earlier, the family had been cheering the toddler on as he took his first steps.

But now his walking efforts will be delayed because his right leg suffered the worst burns along with severe burns on his face, feet, head and chest.

"I would like to reassure parents that it's not their fault when something like this happens - because it does happen in a split second," said Hall.

"There is nothing that anyone can do. Nothing at all."

Hunter is slowly healing. Image supplied.

After six weeks of ongoing hospital treatment, the family have been reunited in accommodation in Brisbane, close to the hospital.

Kerrie and Mick Hall hope to raise funds via a GoFundMe page for Hunter's ongoing treatment.

"Any financial assistance that can be provided will help Hunter and help relieve some of the stress that this family is currently undergoing," says Hall.

The mother of four has support from the community and social workers but has only just started to be able to talk about the incident.

"It was just a freak accident," she says.

"We couldn't have done anything different to what we have done."

To donate to the Hall family visit here.