The Mauling of Candice Wilder

On February 22, 2014, my 10 year old daughter Candice was savagely mauled by a pit bull at a neighbor's house.

My father and I took her to Mercy hospital in Fairfield, OH. On the way, she didn't cry. She only whimpered from time to time. The only thing I could think to do was tell her to talk to Jesus. Mercy Hospital wasn't confident enough to do her surgery, so she was transported to Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. I'm very thankful in hindsight.

The ER doctor at Children's Hospital said it was the worst facial bite she had seen in her entire career. She told me that part of Candice's lip was missing. I argued this until the plastic surgeon himself told me that this was to be a very complex surgery, that they would have to piece things together where some things were missing. In that moment, my only option was to pray and thank God that I still had my little girl.

I don't know if I will ever be able to suppress the memories of my daughter's face that day. We have all had nightmares. She was covered in blood and her lip flapped as she walked. Her words were not coherent, due to the fact that she could no longer touch her lips together. She used a clip board for communication and the first thing she wrote was "My face hurts." After 4mg. of morphine she started to doodle kittens and mermaids.

As she sat in the ER, saliva leaked from her torn cheeks down her chest. And it was in this moment, that I will never forget the way that she stroked my cheek and hair to comfort me and let me know that she would be okay.

My daughter, who had been mutilated by an animal that without a doubt would have killed her if she hadn't got away, comforted me. 

After her surgery, to my amazement, everything was intact. Within an hour of coming out of general anesthesia, she asked to walk to the kitchen area for ice cream. The nurse obliged and I followed Candice with her iv stand in awe of her strength.

As you can imagine, an hour and a half of plastic surgery racked up a considerable amount of money in medical bills. We have Medicaid, however, it did not cover all of her bills. She still needs scar therapy sessions. I have to drive 45 minutes each way to take her there.

It's very humbling to ask for help, but I honestly don't know what else to do at this time. It was something that our family, who's living paycheck to paycheck, was not at all be prepared for. Any help given, will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read her story.

**Graphic Content**
You can see her injuries here, here, and here.