POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — Little Amahd's parents say it happened in an instant - one second, their happy smiling baby was just fine, and in the next - the rest of his life was changed.
A freak accident left the Powder Springs child with burns on over 40% of his body. The 17-month-old, whom the family calls Bubby, slipped through a baby gate and into the kitchen three weeks ago.
The family shared video from their nanny cam showing him pouring Vicks VapoRub into a lit candle and the flame exploding.
"He was on fire here, and I saw a little ball of light, that's how it was, you couldn't even make out that it was a person, on camera, it just looked like a circle of light running down the hallway," his mom Rochenda Golightly said.
The family created a fundraiser to help them get through the travel to be with him while keeping their small business open. And if you want to send Bubby a card, his address at the Pediatric Burn Unit is: Amahd Black, 3651 Wheeler Rd, Augusta, GA 30909.
Amahd's dad rushed him to the hospital, where he was taken by helicopter to the pediatric burn unit in Augusta.
The family now takes turns driving the three hours to be by his side around the clock until he wakes up.
"I talk to him, I tell him I love him, he's so strong, and he's so beautiful," Golightly said.
When they're not at the hospital, they're with their other children and trying to keep their small business running in Atlanta.
Amahd Black, Powder Springs baby burned in accident
Golightly said Bubby's absence hangs over her home. Until he comes home, the family doesn't feel like this is a home at all.
"It feels empty, and I know it feels awful to say, but it just feels like a crime scene here. It doesn't feel like home anymore," she said. "My daughter says she feels so dark here, and she doesn't want to be here. She wishes we could just move."
The mom described her son as "fun" and "vibrant" who has "brought so much love into our household."
He loves to watch the Christmas lights from his high chair, his stocking is hung on the mantle.
"We are going to leave all of this up until he comes home," she said of the decorations.
Bubby will be in the hospital for the next three months, the family expects.
"I just want him home. I want him home. I know recovery is going to be long, but I just can't wait for him to be here," his mom said.
For Golightly, dealing with the trauma of seeing this happen to her son, his return home will mark the beginning of her recovery, too.
"I'm just so scared. For how things will be. Every time I walk in there I just break down," she said.