Our vacation disaster...which could have been much worse...

I will spare Mom, and not post the pictures I have of the paramedics checking her out (you owe me one)- but I guess we can't ever get through a vacation wothout at least one disaster! Mom was using a campstove which ran on butane cannisters, heating up our soup for dinner (while the rest of us were sitting around the campfire, unaware of what we were about to see- one of the scariest sights I have ever seen) All of a sudden, a huge fireball exploded right in front od Mom, and when she turned around, her head was literally up in flames! This fireball shot about 8 feet in the air, and although it was only for a few seconds, it was just unbelievable to see. We immediately soaked Mom with towels drenched in ice water...(surprisingly, Denise stayed very calm and rational- NOT!!) Mom had clumps of burned hair on her head, and managed to burn her face, lips, nose and eyelids, as well as her hand. When the paramedics arrived, her skin was red, but not blistering which was a good sign. Although painful, Mom endured and was able to proceed with vacation (she didn't want to go to the hospital) She just had to stay out of the sun, and she had the lips of Angelina Jolie! Her hand actually got burnt much worse than her face, and over the next few days, her hand looked (and still does) look horrible. Thankfully, her face, although it did blister, won't be scarred, and her hair will grow back...in fact, for as much hair as she lost, you really can't tell by looking at her! We are so thankful that, although terrible, this could have been much worse. We think the stove got too hot, and ignited the can, which exploded. Very scary! It does give you some respective on life- don't sweat the small stuff! We're glad your o.k. Mom!