Melia's Burn Journey

Hello, my name is Faith and I have created this Gofundme account for my best friend Lisa and my goddaughter Melia.

Lisa is a single mother who earned her Bachelor's degree in communications but still struggles to provide the best possible care for her daughter while working full-time as a website writer. 

Recently, Lisa has had to exhaust all of her paid-time off and vacation hours and take advantage of FMLA - family medical leave act - to protect her job.

Although Lisa does not receive child support or social security for Melia, she continues to be over-income for any type of government support. While on FMLA, Lisa does not receive pay for her time off work and that has put a serious strain on her financial situation.

Lisa is facing an eviction notice, has reached out to churches, food pantries, and other burn survivor groups for financial assistance but has not been very successful. She has been told that there are no outpatient financial resources for burn patients both by multiple burn foundations as well as hospital and county social workers.

I have witnessed Lisa as a strong, independent woman and mother as wellas an incredible caretaker to Melia during her recovery but I have also witnessed her break down. The added stress of not getting paid while on FMLA should not be her biggest worry, her daughter's future should be.

I am asking for your donation to help Lisa and Melia get through her burn recovery, skin grafts, contracture releases, and C02 laser resurfacing procedures so that Lisa can focus on providing the best care possible to Melia. 

Please take some time to read about Melia's burn journey and consider donating to help both Lisa and Melia during their financial struggles. The goal set is just my hope for my friend to succeed in life but any donation would be greatly appreciated and is sure to change their lives.

Here is Melia during her daily bath at the University of Iowa Burn Clinic in Iowa City, IA with a brace that was completely customized for her to keep her muscles from contracting.

January 3rd, 2o1o - The Accident

At the young age of 17 months, Melia's life changed forever when she climbed onto the toilet and into the bathroom sink, then proceeded to turn on the hot water.

Melia survived the hot water accident with 3rd degree burns on 39% of her body however, her feet, legs, and part of stomach would never look the same.

During her 40+ days at the U of I hospital, Melia had 4 different surgeries to remove her burned skin and cover her wounds with her own donor skin as well as cadavre skin.

Since her release from the burn clinic and physical therapy at Covenant Medical Center, Melia has undergone 3 additional skin graft surgeries.

Grafted skin does not stretch like regular skin, so thick scars known as scar bands or contractures occur which make it very difficult for joints to move like they are supposed to.

This is Lisa and Melia after a contracture release to the top of both feet. The release and full thickness skin graft was necessary as Melia's scars were causing her toes to pull back.

After her release, Melia wore casts for 3 weeks to protect the new and delicate grafted skin on her feet. For an additional month, she was unable to put weight on her feet and even started Kindergarten late. Lisa was on FMLA for over 2 months at this time. 

Recently, Lisa made the difficult decision to begin intense C02 laser resurfacing procedures under the care of Dr. Fisher at the University of Iowa Plastic Surgery.

Prior to her first procedure, Dr. Fisher inspected Melia's legs to decide the best course of action.

The C02 laser helps grow new collagen and can prevent Melia from having potential contracture release and skin graft surgeries in the future. It takes a series of 6 to 10 procedures every 6 weeks to determine if the C02 laser resurfacing technique is working.

Melia after her most recent C02 laser resurfacing procedure. This procedure caused her quite a bit of pain.

At her most recent procedure on August 10th, 2016, Dr. Fisher informed Melia's mother, Lisa - that Melia will need a contracture release for a large scar band that is pulling on Melia's thigh and knee. Dr. Fisher stated that the surgery would probably take place over 2 separate procedures within 6 weeks of each other. This will mean that Melia will potentially have open wounds for months and Lisa will need to take an extensive period of time off work.

Your donation, no matter how big or small, will help both Lisa and Melia during their current and future financial struggles. 

Thank you for taking the time to read about two of my favorite people and to learn more about burn injuries.