Tony's Burn Recovery Fund

On November 8, 2014, my father, Tony Knight, was doing yard work, a simple and ordinary task...normally. He was raking leaves, piling up stray limbs, and picking up any other trash out of the yard. Then, like a great majority of people, he started to burn the pile. Only on this day, something went tragically wrong. He used lighter fluid to start the fire and without his knowledge, some of the fluid must have splashed on his pants and shoes. So of course, once he lit the fire, the trash pile caught fire, and so did his pants and shoes.
     He panicked and starting hitting his pants with his hands and he went to the ground to try and extinguish himself, but a great deal of damage was already done.
     Sadly, he was in the yard completely alone, as my mother, Darlene Knight, was inside the house asleep. She was scheduled to work the night shift that night and was sleeping. My grandmother was also home, but across the yard in her home, doing her daily chores.
     Daddy had no other choice but to drag himself across the yard to his back deck (which is about 30-40 feet away) and beat on his back door, trying frantically to wake my mother up. He finally woke her up by beating on the sliding glass door and screaming her name. My mother then proceeded to call 911 and got my grandmother to come help her. While they were waiting on the ambulance to arrive, my mother called me to come to them, even though I live in a different town. I could hear my daddy screaming for help, for anyone to help him, and he let out the most anguishing cries I have ever heard come from a grown man.
     The ambulance arrived and assessed the damage to his leg, and went ahead and called for a helicopter to meet them at our local community hospital. He was then airlifted to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center ICU in Augusta, GA.
     Here are his initial injuries as per the doctors: he has 2nd degree burns on both hands, 3rd degree burns on his foot, and 4th degree burns from about his ankle up to a little past his knee. The 4th degree burns are wrapped around his entire leg.
     The morning of November 9, 2014, the doctors took him into surgery and removed all of the burned skin and muscle from the foot. The also had to remove ALL of the skin covering his lower leg. The doctor also ended up having to remove about half of his calf muscle as well.  
     He has suffered major nerve damage in the lower leg, but still has some feeling in his foot, which is a hopeful sign. The doctors could not tell us if he will be able to keep his leg and foot, or if they may end up having to be amputated. Only time and God know if he will be able to keep his leg and foot. The completed the surgery this morning, which was primarily to debride the wounds and examine the extent of the damage, and have covered his leg with cadaver tissue.
     The doctors are primarily concerned about salvaging the foot and leg right now, but infection is a major concern. My father is a MRSA carrier which may complicate the healing process. The doctors are hopeful that the cadaver grafts with adhere, which is a good thing, as it means that once they start doing skin grafts with his own skin, they should adhere also. That step is still a long way away though, as per the doctors, we are only in Stage 1 of this recovery. He has multiple surgeries ahead of him, painful treatments, and possibly a month or more away from home. 
     My sister Haley, my Aunt Robin, my husband Jason, and myself were discussing on the way home how his home is probably not going to be very accessible for him, once he comes home from the hospital. He has been planning to build a wheelchair ramp for months now, for my nephew BJ, his beloved grandson. BJ has a severe congenital heart disease and suffered a stroke in 2010. Because of the stroke, he now relies on a power wheelchair to have some independence. BJ is 9 and of course, like any other little boy, has to do everything himself; but unfortunately, he cannot go into mama & daddy's house without a ramp. Daddy also has 2 other grandchildren, my 4 year old daughter Emsley, and my sister's 3 (almost 4) year old son, Raylen (BJ's bother).  All 3 of them are ready to have their Grandaddy Tony back home. 
     We do not know the condition daddy will come home in, so we are trying to prepare for the future and any outcome that may hold for us. We want to make his return home as comfortable as possible.
     My mother will be having to go on FMLA leave, but is unsure if she will still receive a paycheck or not. She refuses to leave his side in Augusta, and we know her monetary resources are going to be extremely limited in the weeks to come, if not longer. We will try everything we can do as a family to keep her by his side, but my sister and I want to make sure she doesn't have to worry about anything. We do not want her to have the added stress of being in a different state, alone and with no money. 
     We appreciate any donations that you may make to help mama and daddy out. Any little bit will certainly help, and we hope that we can raise enough to make their house accessible and make any changes that he might need in the future. May God Bless You and Thank You!