Girl, 6, Suffers Horrific Burns and Has Fingers and Toes Amputated After Candle Sets Fire to Sofa
An Indiana girl has undergone six surgeries and was forced to have her fingers and toes amputated after suffering severe burns when a candle set a sofa on fire in a neighboring apartment which then spread to her home.
At around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 16, Jared Mosgrove began to notice a thick cloud of smoke filling the living room of his apartment, The Lafayette Journal & Courier reports.
Unable to catch his breath, Mosgrove, 44, desperately searched for his children as the smoke grew thicker, the outlet reports.
Mosgrove was able to grab his 11-year-old son Liam and daughter Teagan, 4. However, his 6-year-old daughter Kenzie was nowhere to be found.
“She couldn’t get to me,” Mosgrove told The Lafayette Journal & Courier.
Soon after firefighters arrived at the scene and rescued Kenzie, who had been hiding between a couch and the patio door — just right above where the fire started, the outlet reports.
Kenzie was then airlifted to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis with 68 percent of her body covered in burns, according to The Epoch Times.
Little Kenzie needed six surgeries to clear her skin of infections caused by the severe burns and unfortunately had to have half of her toes and fingers amputated. The 6-year-old remained in the hospital for four months.
Kenzie’s mother, Jessica has since spoken out about the traumatic event.
“On Sunday, December 16, I received a phone call from Kenzie’s father telling me there had been a fire in the apartment below, caused by an unattended candle,” Jessica told The Daily Mirror.
“After being in the fire for three minutes, Kenzie was rescued by firefighters and rushed to the hospital to treat her burns,” Jessica explained. “I got to the hospital as quickly as I could and as soon as I walked into the ward I knew how serious this was.”
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“The most devastating news came before her fourth surgery on January 3 where we were told that she would have to have her fingers and toes on the left side of her body removed, as they had completely died,” Jessica told the outlet, adding that her daughter had difficulty understanding what was happening.
“She suddenly woke up and couldn’t figure out where her hands and fingers had gone, which completely broke my heart,” Jessica explained.
Despite her many challenges, Kenzie took her first steps in January and was discharged from the hospital on March 12.
Kenzie was able to return to school on April 4, but has to wear splits and garments for 22 hours a day, according to The Daily Mirror. Still, her mother says, life will never be the same.
“Her life is going to be altered forever,” Jessica said to The Mirror.
A GoFundMe page has been created in hopes of raising money to cover Kenzie’s medical costs.
Kenzie’s family is also selling t-shirts to raise money.
