A freak treadmill accident has left a three-year-old girl needing emergency skin grafts to her right hand and stomach.
While outside her South Headland home, Kelly Gay, 35, told The Daily Mail of her apprehension when she heard her daughter’s terrifying scream from inside.
She ran inside to find her husband trying to save her daughter Sienna who had become trapped between the wall and the treadmill.
“I moved closer to the treadmill and it was on maximum speed and on an incline,” she told the publication.
“My husband was using his hands on the wall and feet and all his strength to stop the belt to get her out. She was wedged against the wall and treadmill belt before he finally stopped it.”
After stopping the treadmill, which was going 22km/h, Kelly saw the friction burns on Sienna’s stomach and right hand.
“I went back into the kitchen and looked at my daughter and it was the most horrific sight. I will never get it out of my mind,” she said.
“Her stomach was red and her hand was the worst – it looked like it had been through a grater.”
Sienna’s injuries were deemed too severe for the rural hospital near the Gays’ Western Australian home and she was transported to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth where doctors grafted skin from her bottom cheek to her right arm and sprayed it onto her fingers and stomach.
Unfortunately, only Sienna and Kelly were able to be flown to the hospital, forcing Kelly’s husband Adam to drive 19 hours with their son to meet them at the hospital.
Kelly told The Daily Mail she hoped her situation would teach other parents to take extra safety precautions when it comes to exercise equipment.
“Turn it off at the wall, pull the chord out and hide the key. Do not leave the key or any exercise equipment around young children.
They are curious and intrigued.”
According to a 2013 NSW Fair Trading report, about 40 people are hospitalised each year due to treadmill related incidents in New South Wales, most of whom are children.
Fair Trading NSW recommends always unplugging the treadmill when not in use and using safety barriers if it is unable to be stored in a room away from young children.
