A family from Arizona, saw how life could change within a matter of seconds after 10-year-old girl went to a pool party and came out of it with severe burns covering nearly half of her body. The family had gathered together for the pool party, where a propane tank was used to get their grill going. At some point, the leaking propane tank caught fire and left young Isla with severe burns.
“Isla ended up receiving the brunt of the ten-foot flames. Isla has second and third-degree burns covering 46 percent of her body,” said a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for her recovery. “She was rushed to the hospital and then transferred to a Burn Unit Hospital in Phoenix Arizona.”
When the little girl’s mother, Alyssa Cook, spoke about the tragic incident, she said, “Life can change fast.”
“It’s tragic, an absolute tragic situation, and watching my daughter go up in flames, it’s the hardest thing I ever had to do,” said Isla’s father, Justin Cook.
Although Isla has a long road to recovery ahead of her, her family hopes to see her do all the things she used to do before suffering the burns. Having undergone a couple of surgeries, she is still being monitored at the hospital and might need a few more months of treatment before finally being able to go back home.
“I want her out of pain,” Alyssa said. “We want her to make a full recovery and have her be the normal perfect child she is,” added Justin.
The 10-year-old is the oldest of five children and often helps her mother in caring for her twin siblings, aged one. “She is always thinking of others and is often finding ways to do acts of service for her family and friends. She is so much fun and has a bold, playful personality,” said the GoFundMe page. “She loves to bake all kinds of yummy treats and loves to sing and play the piano.”
Isla’s parents believe their daughter’s acrobatic skills and gymnastic training might help with her speedy recovery. “She’s a fighter. We are really thankful she has been doing gymnastics for years to be strong and push through things,” the mother said.
Her condition changes day by day, but Isla is “looking great” for now, according to an update posted on the GoFundMe page.
“They are hopeful all her skin will heal without the need of skin grafts. The doctor said that with this amount of burn coverage everything is going to be very painful, but Isla could be out of the hospital sooner than anticipated,” the update said.
So far, the GoFundMe page has raised $105,065 out of the goal of $200,000.
Katelyn Williams, who organized the fundraiser, expressed the family’s gratitude and wrote: “This was exactly what we’ve been collectively praying for. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. Words cannot express the gratitude we have for all of you.”