Fort Worth baker who suffered sugar burns reveals progress

A cake baker from Fort Worth, Texas, who suffered second degree facial burns at work has taken to social media to reveal her skin’s incredible recovery in just one week.

Bonnie Norman, 31, a mother-of-two young boys who works at Swiss Pastry Shop in Westover Hills, took to Reddit to share her story and reveal how her injuries occurred.

In a post named, ‘Skin is amazing. I suffered facial burns in a work accident and here is my healing process in pictures’, Bonnie shared her story. 

Picky: Bonnie also revealed that the doctors in the ER didn't know which parts of her face were sugar or which were skin

Not so sweet: Bonnie Norman, a baker from Fort Worth, Texas, posted pictures of her second degree burns on Reddit after hot sugar glaze burnt her face

'Amazing': Four pictures taken over the course of a week, detail the different stages of her skin's healing process

All clear: Her skin has healed almost perfectly in just one week

‘Amazing’: Four pictures taken over the course of a week, detail the different stages of her skin’s healing process

Bake off: The mother of two works at Swiss Pasty shop in Westover Hills, just outside of Fort Worth 

Bake off: The mother of two works at Swiss Pasty shop in Westover Hills, just outside of Fort Worth 

‘I work in a bakery and a tray full of hot sugar glaze splashed down my face,’ she wrote in the comments section. ‘In the ER it was literally a game of: is that sugar or is that skin?’ 

Luckily a skin graft surgery wasn’t needed, however, Bonnie did have to ‘debride’ her skin and apply a topical antibiotic cream every day to encourage natural healing. 

Debridement involves the removal of dead, damaged or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining, healthy tissue underneath. 

It is an important part of the healing process for burns and other serious wounds. 

She added: ‘I’ve lost some eyebrow but the burns weren’t deep enough to harm the hair follicles. I didn’t get any sugar on my eyelashes.’ 

Explaining that most of the burns were classified as second degree, she also shared that some of the wounds on the underside of her chin and neck were deemed to be first degree burns.

And while her skin hasn’t completely healed, she did highlight how quickly the healing process has been. ‘I can’t believe the difference a week has made,’ she wrote on Instagram. 

Going into more detail she added: ‘There is definitely some lingering redness and sensitivity but it doesn’t seem like there will be any lasting marks. 

‘I have a few spots still peeling but overall the burn clinic said the skin tone would even out within six months with good sun protection. I feel very, very lucky!’

And her post has been gaining lots of attention, with people on Reddit commenting in their hundreds. 

Lucky escape: Most of Bonnie's burns were classified as second degree, however some on the underside of her chin and neck were deemed to be first degree burns

Lucky escape: Most of Bonnie’s burns were classified as second degree, however some on the underside of her chin and neck were deemed to be first degree burns

Sensitive: Bonnie pictures here with her husband (left) says that although she lost some of her eyebrow the burns weren't deep enough to harm the hair follicles

No lasting marks: Bonnie revealed on Instagram that there is still some redness but her skin will even out in six months

No lasting marks: Bonnie pictures here with her husband (left) says that although she lost some of her eyebrow the burns weren’t deep enough to harm the hair follicles

Cake boss: The cake baker is already back at work and says her employers have been 'awesome' at handling the situation 

Cake boss: The cake baker is already back at work and says her employers have been ‘awesome’ at handling the situation 

User Zombiesnacks wrote: ‘Wow! Congratulations on healing so well’.

While KagakuKo typed: ‘My mom told me once that the greatest fear of anyone who prepares food is never the sharp knives; it’s hot sugar. I can’t even imagine, dude. I’m glad to see your skin is doing its job and fixing itself up so well, too–it’s amazing the kind of damage we can survive, or even go unscathed from, sometimes.’

And fellow baker HagalUlfr empathized with how hazardous a kitchen can be: ‘I used to manage in a commercial bakery, I would get nervous when sometimes, when you took a rack out of the convection oven that it would tip. 

This time of the year is horrible because of the liquid pies we would bake, those pumpkin pies slosh around when they are not done, but you do have to check them. Congratulations on healing so well, sugar is a PITA and I am sure you went through hell with the pain. I hope you do not have to deal with that again!’

The Texas native also shared with fellow Redditors that her employers had handled the situation well, calling them ‘awesome’.

Bonnie also shared that she is already back in work, posting pictures of her latest culinary creations on Instagram, including an ornate ‘Friendsgiving’ cake just in time for Thanksgiving. 

‘When you invite a baker to Friendsgiving, you get cakes like this,’ she captioned a picture of an artfully decorated cake. 

 

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