Mia Commer was at La Jolla Shores celebrating her sister’s 11th birthday on Sunday when her mother heard her screaming in pain.
“Our two-year-old barely stepped off the grass into a dirt circle and starting screaming in tremendous pain. As soon as we ran over we realized she had stepped in hot coals someone had dumped there,” said Lisa Commer, the toddler’s mother.
The coals were covered with dirt and just 30-feet from a playground where kids were playing, Mia's mother told NBC 7.
Lifeguards were there to help the toddler and put cold water on her foot to ease the pain. Lifeguards then told her mother that the burns looked more serious and that she needed to go to the hospital.
The family took Mia to Rady Children’s hospital but she was then sent to UCSD Medical Center’s burn unit with second-degree burns.
Click to see Mia's injury - Warning Graphic Image
“As a mom it was really frustrating to know that someone couldn’t take the time to put their coals in the proper receptacles. They definitely shouldn’t be placed where anyone let alone a two-year-old would step on them; seeing her in that much pain has been really frustrating,” said Commer.
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Mia will have to undergo several follow-up sessions with doctors before her burns heal. Doctors told the toddler’s mother that she can walk on her foot but her mother tells NBC 7 that Mia is crawling and asking to be held because of the pain.
“Please walk the extra 15-feet or whatever it may have been to put those coals where they need to go," she said. "Don't take the short cut and really think about what your actions can do.”
