On the weekend following July 4th, our friends and family were gathering for a fun-filled weekend full of friends, food, lake time, and our friends wedding ceremony. As we gathered around a campfire at a neighbors house for the rehearsal dinner, everything changed in an instant and next thing we knew, we found ourselves on an emergency airplane ride to Denver for surgery to save our daughter’s legs. On the evening of Friday July 7th around 8PM, our beautiful daughter Allison was severely burned in a freak accident at a campfire. Kevin, Allie, and a dozen other friends were gathered around the fire having dinner and laughing when gasoline accidentally spilled on her pant legs. There was a very large explosion, causing her jeans to immediately erupt into flames. Kevin jumped into action quickly putting himself in the middle of the blaze, which no doubt saved her from far more severe burns, and possibly her life. He did everything he could to get the flames extinguished, and also burned his hand and face badly. Finally, after her pants were removed, he was able to extinguish the fire and get it off her. That is when the shock set in…her legs were severely burned. The skin on the lower part of her legs was falling off, and the large blisters surrounding the epicenter were already setting in, all of which took only 10-15 seconds in total for the damage to be done. Allison was raced to the Hot Springs ER with her father, and upon arrival it was discovered she had severe 2nd and 3rd degree burns on her legs. I sped from work at Hill City to meet them in Hot Springs as quickly as I could. When I got there, we were immediately life-flighted to Denver UCH burn unit, where she received emergency surgery upon arrival (I was able to fly with her). Allie is extremely tough through the whole ordeal, which is EXTREMELY painful. The doctors said they’d never seen someone handle a gritty debriding surgery with such toughness. In true Allie fashion, she gritted her teeth and dealt with the pain with unyielding strength. Her positivity and light have shone during this difficult time. Everyone who knows Allie knows she doesn’t deserve to have her summer taken from her or her beautiful legs to be burned. This is extremely difficult emotionally for all of us, and especially for Allie, who must now sit the entire summer out and heal. Her inability to work may cost her dearly, as she is slated to return to college this fall and greatly relies on the income she makes in the summer to make it through the college semester. She needs help, as financial responsibility is falling directly on her as an adult. We are estimating a VERY large medical bill for the airplane that insurance will likely not cover, and the long hospital stay which will keep at least Allison and myself out of work in the process. Burn wounds take a very long time to heal, and we may be staying in Denver for weeks if everything goes correctly. Months if not. Our biggest concern right now is keeping her legs from getting infected, and seeing if she will need skin grafts on some of the 3rd-degree burns. Our loss of income, paired with hers, and the medical bills are proving to be an astronomical number for our family. We humbly ask that you help her financially in our time of need, and if you cannot, continue to say prayers for her healing. Anything is more than enough, and we appreciate and love every single one of you out there. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for all your love for our Allie. She is and will always be our baby, and though our hearts are broken, she remains so strong and continues to make all around her better by knowing her. Help us help her get better soon. We love you all!
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