A burn sufferer from Tallapoosa is making progress toward recovery because to the kind contributions of thousands of people who are not connected to the case.
After being involved in an incident with a campfire in September of 2016, Courtney Waldon, a single mother of 27 years old, sustained third and fourth degree burns on her face and body. She had a number of procedures while she was in the intensive care unit’s burn section for about three months. Her medical team has estimated that during the next two years, she would need a minimum of twelve further operations.
Because Waldon is unable to work owing to the severe burns on her hands, her family started a GoFundMe campaign around six months ago in order to assist with covering bills. They have raised more than 267,000 dollars out of their total target of 300,000. When Waldon’s story and her path to recovery were featured in People magazine in July, the campaign received a significant boost that helped it gain momentum.
According to what Waldon told People, she had a clear recollection of the day in September when she was sitting by a campfire with her husband of two months at the time, preparing tuna steak and asparagus. Her husband got up to rekindle the fire as she was on Facebook on her phone while he was doing it. Waldon was instantly engulfed in flames as the fuel from a gas can that was being swung came into contact with her body.
“I stopped, dropped, and rolled while screaming bloody murder,” Waldon told People about his experience. “I was afraid that I was going to die.”
Waldon had attempted to extinguish the flames that were on her face by using her hands, but she was unable to do so. Waldon’s face continued to burn. She was fortunate in that she was located in close proximity to the hospital, and an ambulance was sent to her location shortly.
After having a number of surgeries and emerging from a coma that had been induced for thirty days, Waldon was discharged and sent home. After two weeks, her husband deserted her together with their small daughter, Caroline, and moved out. Due to the fact that Waldon’s injuries have rendered her unable to work and that she no longer benefits from her husband’s salary, the couple has been struggling to pay their mounting medical expenditures.
While Refuge Ministries of West Georgia is in the midst of constructing her a new house on the land she now lives on with her parents, she and her daughter are currently living with her parents.
The funds raised via the GoFundMe campaign, which continues to bring in contributions from people all across the country, will be used toward the cost of constructing the house and will also assist in paying the medical expenditures associated with the several operations she will have to endure. In the long run, Waldon and her daughter may need financial assistance, and the family is working toward that end as well.
Waldon said that she is “blessed” and “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of love she has received.