A brave toddler has endured 50 surgeries after suffering severe burns to 94 per cent of his body when he climbed into extremely hot bath water – but his mother says he still ‘won’t stop smiling’.

Jessica-Leigh Cox, from Warwick, is warning parents to check how hot their water is after her 19-month-old son Jenson Smith was badly scalded, with his skin seriously damaged when he was pulled out of the bath.

The 29-year-old mother thought the door was closed while she was running the hot water for herself last February but Jenson still managed to climb into it.

Jenson was airlifted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where surgeons were forced to remove half of his bowel after discovering it had been severely damaged from shock and was given just a three per cent chance of survival.

Jess claims doctors ‘didn’t think he was going to make it’ and distressing photos show him entirely wrapped in bandages like a mummy as he was covered in third degree, and even some fourth degree, burns.

However the ‘strong little boy’ spent six months in hospital, including five weeks in intensive care, and after undergoing multiple surgeries including skin grafts, was eventually brought home last July.

Despite having just undergone his 50th operation just last week, Jenson’s ‘always got a smile on his face’ and a family friend has now set up a JustGiving page to raise funds for a family trip to Disney World.

Jess said: ‘I know lots of other parents who have their water temperature at home set to 70 degrees, and my main message is, ‘can you please go home and turn it right down?’.

‘I would rather have a cold shower or a cold bath than ever have to go through anything like this again.

‘I didn’t know water could do that to a person – when he was in hospital his little toes and the ends of his fingers were darkened like he’d been exposed to extreme heat.

‘I’ve still got friends who couldn’t believe that it had happened with water.

‘We were so focused on the stairs, the fire door, the windows – there were always things that we weren’t going to think about – and the bath [temperature] wasn’t one of them, so I assume it’s not for a lot of people.

‘We were at home, I’d put the boys down on the sofa for an afternoon nap and went to run a bath.

‘It must have been three minutes and my little boy Teddy came running in the kitchen saying ‘Jenson, climbing hot bath, hot bath’.

‘We ran as quickly as we could to the bathroom but as we got to the door we just heard a splash and I instantly pulled Jenson out of the bath – but his skin was severely affected.’

They placed Jenson in a sink and instantly called an ambulance.

He was airlifted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, sedated on arrival and rushed straight to emergency care where she recalls there being 30 people in the room waiting for him.

He was then stabilised and sent to the ICU and as he didn’t have enough healthy skin they created a stoma to prevent infection, but discovered his burns had caused a clot in his intestines that had shut off the blood supply to his bowels – and half of them had to be removed.

Jess said: ‘He suffered 94% scald injuries to his body and it was obviously touch and go – honestly I don’t think they thought he was going to make it from the burns themselves.

‘At that point – when half of his bowel had been severely damaged – they didn’t know why or how – but they didn’t think he was going to make it – he was given a 3% chance of survival.

‘They went ahead with the stoma and kind of said ‘he’s got 48 hours, if his bowel improves and comes back, he’s not out of the woods he’s still critical, but it’s a good sign and we’ve got something to work with’.

‘But they said if it didn’t improve ‘that’s it’ and they were literally the words that we were given – ‘that’s it’.’

Jenson underwent another operation in which a further 3cm of his bowel was removed and he’s since been diagnosed with Small Bowel Syndrome.

The mother-of-three said they’re hoping ‘for a miracle’ and that his bowel will recover within a couple of years.

His skin has slowly healed after grafts to his leg, bottom and stomach and he still has to be washed three times a day and creamed ‘from head to toe’.

As the grafting and scarring causes stiffness, he also has stretches to ensure he keeps his range of movement.

Jess said: ‘He’s such a strong little boy – nothing seems to faze him at all.

‘Even the little things like having his medicine every four hours as soon as he sees me he’ll just run straight up to me and take his medicine, and then carry on with his day.

‘I think everybody when they hear about Jenson, they expect to see a very unwell little boy – but he’s always got a smile on his face and is so happy.

‘Whilst he was in hospital he was on steroids and wasn’t moving around – he looked very unwell, but when I look at pictures of him before the accident, he’s just an older version – it’s lovely, it feels like we’ve finally got our old Jenson back.’

Jess shared Jenson’s story on Facebook in a bid to raise awareness and reach out to parents who’d experienced similar situations and said she was ‘overwhelmed’ with helpful advice.

As the family have ‘been through so much’ in the past year a friend has recently organised a fundraiser for a trip for Jess and family to Disney World.

Jess said: ‘I’m now in touch with parents that have had accidents and actually had the same trauma to the bowel, which I didn’t really expect.

‘Even if in a few years time Jenson’s bowel is absolutely fine and his skin was all healed – touch wood, I’d absolutely love it – I’d still want to help other people, because I know what this experience has done to us as a family, and to Jenson.

‘The Disney trip would mean the world and more. I couldn’t think of anything special enough to do for Teddy for helping Jenson but he has his heart set on it. All three of them have been through so much over this past year.’