Toddler's left leg amputated after burned by pressure cooker

Samantha Gonzalez expected to have more surgeries

MIAMI – A 2-year-old girl who was severely burned after a pressure cooker overflowed at her grandmother's home had one of her legs amputated on Thursday.

Cellphone video shows Samantha Gonzalez lying in her hospital bed at Jackson Memorial Hospital, struggling to tell her grandmother that she is in pain.

Doctors said the girl has second-and third-degree burns covering 60 percent of her body.

Samantha's grandmother was bathing her in the sink on Sept. 14 while she was preparing dinner in a pressure cooker when the device overflowed, causing steam and liquid to burn the child.

"I guess it was an accident," Samantha's mother, Tiana Gonzalez, told Local 10 News. "I felt really, really sad since she's my only baby girl."

Samantha was taken to Broward Health Medical Center and then flown to the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where she has remained for three weeks.

The family said that despite the doctors' best efforts, Samantha's left leg had to be amputated Thursday and she might need more surgeries, including having some of her fingers or her arms amputated. The family said her kidneys and liver are also failing.

"This is putting a big strain on the entire family," family friend Carolina Rodriguez said.

As Samantha's long road to recovery continues, the family's medical bills are piling up. Anyone who wishes to make a donation for Samantha's medical expenses can donate to the family through their GoFundMe page.

"As much as they can send I don't mind, because it's all for her," Gonzalez said.

Follow Jenise Fernandez on Twitter @JeniseFernandez

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10

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Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

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