One innocent moment changed everything. Seven-year-old Scarlett just wanted to copy a fun TikTok trend — but it nearly cost her life.

It started like any other afternoon in Festus, Missouri. Scarlett had frozen her favorite squishy NeeDoh toy overnight, planning to microwave it for a few seconds — something she’d seen smiling faces do online. She thought it looked harmless, even fun. But when she opened the microwave door, her world exploded — literally.

The toy burst apart, showering her face and chest with burning gel. “I heard her scream,” her father Josh recalled, his voice breaking. “It was the kind of scream you never forget.” He rushed her to the hospital, where doctors placed her in a coma to save her airways from swelling shut. For three long days, her parents waited and prayed beside her bed, unsure if their little girl would wake up.

Scarlett survived, but the scars on her face and chest may last forever. Her mother fears she’ll need skin grafts one day. “She just wanted to try what she saw online,” Amanda whispered.

Scarlett’s story is now a warning to parents everywhere: even a simple trend can carry unimaginable danger. One click can change a life.