One minute I was cooking dinner for my friend – the next I was engulfed in flames and had to relearn how to walk

ONE minute Abigail Deal was cooking dinner for a friend – the next she was engulfed in flames.

A pan of burning oil exploded suddenly in her hands, and the now-19-year-old suffered second and third degree burns to her hands, arms and legs.

Abigail was forced to spend her 18th birthday in hospital undergoing treatment, and she has been scarred for life.

A year on from the horrifying ordeal, the mum-of-one, from North Carolina, US, tells Sun Health: “I want others to realise the dangers of oil pan fires.

“It went from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds. Please be vigilant while cooking.”;

In October 2023, Abigail was hosting a girls night at her home with two friends.

She decided to use some leftover chicken, with one of her mates in charge of frying it.

While her boyfriend, Jerico, then 20, was playing on his keyboard in their bedroom, the trio got started on dinner.

Abigail says: “While I chopped up some green beans and popped the cornbread in the oven, one of my friends poured half a litre bottle of oil into the wok and dialled up the heat.

“As we talked about my upcoming birthday celebrations we planned at a club the following week, I noticed the pan starting to smoke.”;

Suddenly, black smoke filled the kitchen.

“As I started to cough from the fumes, flames shot out of the pan,”; she says. “I yelled ‘The pan’s on fire’!”;

While the other girls froze in shock, Abigail leapt into action.

“Knowing water and hot oil wasn’t a good mix, running it under the tap was out of the question,”; she says. “I knew I needed to get the pan outside.

“When my aunt’s house burnt down in a matter of minutes a couple of years earlier, there wasn’t much time to act.”;

With that in mind, Abigail grabbed some paper towels and wrapped them around the handle, before carrying the pan to the back door.

But within seconds, the heat was unbearable, and Abigail’s hands started to shake.

“Suddenly, oil spilled out and splashed onto my legs and arms,”; she says.

“I screamed out in pain.”;

Pain radiated through my body. It felt like I was being burnt all over with a hot glue gun

Abigail Deal

Moments later, one of her friends pushed open the back door and the flames exploded, seeing Abigail’s hoodie catch fire.

Abigail says: “Survival mode kicked in and I jumped off the balcony. Throwing the pan to the side.

“My friend was lying beside me, screaming in pain.

“Thankfully, she didn't look burnt. But as I lay in a heap on the ground, I looked down at my arms and legs.

“My skin was red raw and had already started peeling away.

“Pain radiated through my body. It felt like I was being burnt all over with a hot glue gun.”;

While Abigail called the emergency services, her boyfriend Jerico appeared outside.

With the pan fire still raging, he doused the flames with baking soda until they were extinguished.

Half an hour later, paramedics arrived and stretchered Abigail into the van along with her injured friend.

Abigail says: “With each movement, pain seared through my body.

“I couldn’t stand anything touching my skin.”;

Inside, they cut off her clothes and administered painkillers.

Arriving at Camp Lejeune Naval Medical Center soon after, she was examined.

A consultant informed her she’d suffered third and second degree burns to her arms, hands, and legs and required skin graft surgery to repair the burns sites.

She was then given ketamine while they scrubbed her wounds clean.

By this point, Abigail was covered in burn blisters, so they had to be cut open to release the liquid inside.

After wrapping her in bandages, Abigail’s friend was treated for a broken ankle.

‘Wrapped up like a mummy'

Soon after, Abigail was airlifted by helicopter to UNC Burn Clinic in Chapel Hill.

Two days later, she turned 18.

“It wasn’t the special day I hoped for,”; she says. “Still, the nurses tried to cheer me up.

“They wrote ‘Happy Birthday’ on my door and made me a small gift basket filled with a soft blanket, hair brush and some chocolates.

“But, wrapped up like a mummy, I didn’t feel like celebrating.”;

Two days later, she underwent skin graft surgery. Donor skin from her right upper thigh was placed onto her burn sites.

Thankfully, the grafts took well. But she was still in agony.

Abigail says: “As I recovered, I couldn’t do anything for myself. I couldn’t bathe, eat or even brush my hair.

“Instead, I relied on nurses and Jerico for help.”;

Two weeks later she began physiotherapy to help her relearn how to walk and use her hands again.

She’d stretch her hands over water bottles to help with mobility.

Abigail says: “At first, it hurt too much to walk unassisted.

“The intense pressure at the bottom of my legs felt like my ankles might explode, so I was given compression garments to help.

“In time, I was able to take steps unaided. It felt great to do something on my own.”;

After a month in hospital, Abigail was finally discharged. But back at home, her recovery continued.

She couldn’t stand for long periods and was barely able to grip due to the red raw wound on her right hand.

Two months on, Jerico and Abigail married at a courthouse, surrounded by friends.

She says: “Still self conscious about my legs and arms, I covered up in a hoodie and trousers.

“As his wife, I was able to be part of his insurance policy, which helped pay for the medical bills.”;

Then, five months after the accident, Abigail discovered she was pregnant.

In time, as her bump grew, her burn injuries looked bruised and she suffered terrible itching and pressure in her legs.

Then, at eight months’ pregnant, Abigail was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a condition which can cause damage to the liver and kidneys.

So she was induced five weeks early.

Weighing just 4lbs, her daughter, Marceline, now three months, was whisked off to NICU for monitoring.

Luckily after a couple of days all was fine and she was able to hold her baby.

Abigail, who has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for scar removal surgery and her medical bills, says: “I’m blessed to have my daughter. It was what I needed to refocus my trauma.

“Sometimes, I do look at my scars and feel self conscious about the way I look.

“Most days, though, I’m so grateful to be alive and given a second chance.”;