Mom issues warning after 11-year-old forced to undergo five surgeries following attempt to cook viral snack

An 11-year-old girl was hospitalized with severe third-degree burns after attempting to make a viral treat at home.

Kathryn Nichols, from Ventura County, California, was seriously injured while attempting to cook Tanghulu – a candied fruit snack she had seen on social media.

But the fun kitchen experiment soon turned into a nightmare when she accidentally spilled scalding hot sugar syrup all over her arm.

The cup shattered and the liquid poured down her arm, causing deep and severe third-degree burns.

Mom Jaime says she was in the garage when she heard an ‘animalistic howl’ coming from the kitchen.

She is now sharing her horror story to warn other parents about the dangers of children following food trends seen online.

Kathryn has undergone various surgeries and has many more ahead, with the family’s medical bills rising.

‘I honestly didn’t know what it [the sound] was [at first],’ 45-year-old Jamie said of the incident.

‘It sounded like there was an animal in the kitchen. It was such a horrific scream.

‘I don’t know how I even had the strength to deal with it. It was terrifying.

‘After Kathryn poured the liquid on herself, she threw the glass – and because it was so hot, it shattered into a thousand pieces on the kitchen floor.’

The mom says she regrets letting her daughter attempt the viral treat in the first place.

She said: ‘She had seen something on TikTok and YouTube like they all do.

‘I’m a nurse so I’m really careful.

‘I let her older sister make the same things a few weeks prior, but to be honest, I didn’t know what was involved.

‘She asked me and I said no, but I felt bad as she was the little sister.’

Jaime immediately put her daughter’s arm under cold water and later put her in a cold bath.

Once her child was out of immediate danger, she reached out to plastic surgeon bosses at the hospital where she works.

They told her to go and see them first thing in the morning and to keep Kathryn’s arm wrapped up overnight.

She said: ‘There wasn’t much we could do that night.

‘She wasn’t in a lot of pain – you don’t have pain when a burn is that bad because the nerves have burned away.

‘We went to [the] hospital the next morning and we were immediately sent off to a burn center to see a world-renowned plastic surgeon.’

Kathryn spent 10 days in the hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries.

The first doctors they saw cut away dead tissue from her arm before undergoing a skin graft from her thigh to repair the damage.

The youngster was out of school for a month while recovering.

Since the accident in 2024, Kathryn has had five surgeries and needs ongoing steroid injections and laser treatments to manage scarring and prevent further damage.

Her medical expenses are expected to reach an eye-watering $60,000 by the end of this year.

While the family has insurance, mom-of-three Jaime says it won’t cover everything – meaning they will have to pay around $32,000 out of pocket.

Friends have since set up a GoFundMe appeal to help the family through this financially difficult time.

The mom said: ‘Some things aren’t covered. The laser surgery in January this year, compression garments, etc.

‘[The doctor] thinks she needs around three to four more laser treatments, so that’s $32,000.’

Although Kathryn is recovering well, the main concern is that scarring may limit the movement of her arm.

Jaime said: ‘She has more surgeries in her future.

‘Every couple of months, she needs to have steroid injections and laser treatments.

‘We’re trying to make it look as good as possible and keep it from being a physical hindrance.

‘The biggest concern is keeping it from contracting so she has [a] full range of motion.

‘Luckily, she’s done really well – she’s a really resilient kid to say the least.

‘She’s such a light. Everyone at that hospital loved her.

‘It’s horrible that this happened but at some point, hopefully, it’s going be, “When I was a kid, I was burned,” and it won’t be her entire life like it is right now.

‘I tell her people are going ask her for the rest of her life, “Wow, what happened to your arm?”

‘So we want to do everything we can to make it the best result right now – but not torture her with unnecessary surgery if she doesn’t care and doesn’t want it.’

Jaime says if she could go back in time, she would never have let Kathryn try out the trend.

She said: ‘I would say “Absolutely not.” I wish I had done my research and known what it was. I might have let her do it but I would have 100 percent supervised more.

‘I would have been standing right next to her. We’re the PSA for people for people not to [try it at home].

‘It’s my fault. They see things on the internet. I wish I had stuck to my guns and stuck to my “no.”

‘It’s just one of those unfortunate things. It was just an accident.’