PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Pittsburgh-area mother says she just wants to go back in time and not watch a viral TikTok video that ended with her 9-year-old in the hospital with severe burns. "I've had a lot of mom guilt for even thinking this was a good idea," mom Christina Blackstone said after what started as a fun bonding activity to make "candy grapes" ended with a trip to West Penn Hospital. A trendy video is popping up on TikTok, showing how to make "candy grapes.
" Jolly Rancher-coated candy grapes are popular, but they're suddenly sending people to the ER with severe burns. Nine-year-old Caidan Blackstone from Uniontown still can't use his hand. "I went in complete shock the moment it happened," Christina Blackstone said.
"I heard him scream and I said, 'Oh no, this is terrible.'" Christina got the idea from a viral TikTok trend, watching step-by-step videos that looked simple enough. "It was supposed to be a fun afternoon activity, it was raining outside," she said.
But that bowl of molten Jolly Ranchers came out of the microwave and somehow spilled onto Caidan's hand as he walked with it to the counter. The candy immediately started to harden. "My instinct was 'just pull it off, Christina.
' So I just grabbed him, and I was yanking it off. I think I was tearing skin," Christina Blackstone said. The burns from this TikTok idea can require skin grafting and cause nerve damage.
Dr. Ariel Aballay, the director of West Penn Hospital's burn unit, said he's speaking out before it.