Hi everyone. My name is Rachel and up until yesterday 8/18/2021 my mom, Jeanne, was living with my family in Hawaii where my husband is currently stationed. On Monday 8/17/2021, my mom got a call from my sister, Alyssa, in Florida and could hear 3 of her grandchildren screaming in a way that she had never heard before. Alyssa’s children are 2, 3 and 5. An ambulance was on the way because the 3 year old, Miguel, had moved a chair to the stove to see if the nuggets, that his mom was deep-frying, were done. As he tried to look, the pot was flipped and all 3 of the children were burned with boiling hot oil. This is what Laylani, the 5 year old, later told us had happened. All of their burns are severe, however the 2 girls were burned with splashes of the hot oil on their arms, hands, face, chest, and feet and can be managed outpatient.
The pot of oil dumped right on Miguel’s head. From head to toe, he is severely burned. He has been put under for 2 debridement surgeries and they say he will still need that done a few more times. After the second surgery, they placed a feeding tube because his throat is just too swollen for him to eat. His blood pressure keeps tanking and they say that he will be in the Pediatric ICU for at least 30 days.
Rightfully so, DCF became involved and after seeing Alyssas apartment, disgusting and destroyed with drug paraphernalia sitting out all around the apartment, it was clear that she needed help and the kids were not safe in her care. DCF already had a case open for her children so this gave them enough evidence to get emergency custody of the kids.
Luckily my mom flew to Florida and arrived just hours before court and the children have been placed in my moms care. Alyssa is not allowed unsupervised visitation and is not allowed to live with the children. My mom will be staying, with both girls, in a spare bedroom at a friends house temporarily and eventually she will have Miguel too. One of our family members has graciously allowed my mom to use his vehicle so she can get the children to all their appointments and ensure they get the care they need.
The problem we are facing is that the kids cannot leave the state of Florida. The process to bring them here to Hawaii to live with me can take at-least 8 months. We need to find a house to rent for my mom and these kids, in a safe area. She receives disability and it is not even close to enough to fund rent and utilities on her own. The purpose of this GoFundMe is to raise enough money to cover rent for a year, as well as basic furnishings for my mom and the children because absolutely nothing in Alyssa’s apartment is salvageable.
I know this is all ambitious but the second necessity will be a reliable used car for her to transport the children in. It takes a village to raise children, and right now these children and their grandma desperately need the help of our village! Everything helps, just sharing this helps! Anything you can do will be appreciated from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you!
ETA: the initial graphic photo of Miguel was removed as there is an open DCF case and it was triggering. My intention was not to upset anyone but to show the severity of his condition. Thank you all for you help and support!