10-year-old burn survivor takes up baking to raise money for his skin reconstruction surgery

A 10-year-old baking enthusiast from Argentina has won the internet with his steely determination to take life by the reins despite having lived through a horrifying tragedy at a very young age. Joaquin Nahuel was about seven when an innocent game with his brother Fabricio took a dangerous turn due to a domestic accident causing burns all over his body. Although Fabricio, fortunately, escaped with minimal injuries, 25% of Joaquin's body was burned in the accident. Now, the youngster is on a mission to raise enough money to pay for his skin reconstruction surgery.

According to Clarin, Joaquin needs four skin expanders for a facial reconstruction that cost $500 each. "As the body grows, the skin grows with it. There will come a time when [he] cannot move [his] head: [then he] will be ready for surgery. The operation is safe, [but] it is not known when," said the boy's mother, Raquel Escobar. Recalling that nightmarish day in April 2019, Escobar shared that her sons were playing in the yard next to embers that were still active after a barbecue the family had had earlier that day. At some point, Joaquin found a bottle of alcohol and sprayed both himself and his brother with its contents. Not realizing the dangers of his actions, he then poured some on the grill.

Escobar came running out of the house upon hearing the boys' cries just as Fabricio threw himself on the floor and rolled around to extinguish the flames on his arm. Meanwhile, Joaquin was screaming under the flames and although they tried to put out the fire by pouring water on him, it just seemed to make it worse, the boys' mother recalled. "Then, my dad got out of bed and just as he was, with his jacket, he hugged him and turned it off. He burned his arms and hands, but he managed to turn it off," Escobar shared.

Although a neighbor called an ambulance, the ambulance never arrived and the boy was ultimately taken to a nearby hospital in a patrol car. The doctors had warned the family that there wasn't much hope for their child but Joaquin beat the odds and returned home after a month and a half in intensive care. Four months ago, the family organized a raffle to raise money for Joaquin's skin expanders. They offered a cell phone, a hair clipper, an iron and other donated items, but one of the objects that attracted the most attention was a cake baked and decorated by Joaquin himself.

Speaking to LA NACION, Joaquin revealed that his love for baking began at the age of six when his grandfather Francisco taught him some basic techniques. "I made cakes with him and then I started to like making decorations and everything," the young boy explained, adding that he now perfects his technique by learning from YouTube and Google tutorials. "Sometimes I imagine the decoration myself and other times I look at YouTube, which gives me ideas. It's not like I spend a lot of time looking at those things either, but I like it," he said.

Joaquin's story went viral on social media a few weeks ago and the family has since seen an overwhelmingly positive response from both celebrities and netizens across the world. The young baker now has over 187k followers on Twitter and 233k on Instagram. Thanks to the incredible support he's received in recent weeks, Joaquin announced on Monday that he has managed to raise the money necessary for his operation.