Firestone Woman Severely Burned In Cambodia, Family Works To Get Her Back Home
UPDATE: Abbey Alexander, Teacher Burned In Cambodia, Handles Scars With Humor
(CBS4) - A young woman from Firestone suffered serious burns while teaching in Cambodia. Abbey Alexander, 18, was caught in an explosion that burned more than a third of her body.
Abbey moved to Cambodia in January with her family and fiance. Her mother, Erin is an online teacher and her brother taught at the same school where Abbey taught kindergarten.
Abbey's family said she was riding a scooter in front of a gas station when the explosion happened.
"It was pure chaos it was awful," said Abbey's mother, Erin. "The clinic they had taken her to is right near the school and the gas station that exploded. We couldn't get there because the roads were all closed and the emergency personnel."
Erin said her daughter is on a ventilator in the ICU, and she is sedated for the pain.
"She's getting daily surgical scrub treatments where they clean the wounds they have to cut away the dead skin," said Erin. "So that's a daily thing. The main concern is the infection so she's in an isolation room."
Abbey will fly back to the United States on Friday. Her mother said the plane is equipped with an ICU unit and will make 4 refueling stops on the way to the UCHealth Burn Clinic on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
Transportation and medical costs are expected to be $250,000 dollars. The family is asking for donations on a GoFundMe page they set up.
Erin said the gas station did not have permits and Cambodian police are searching for the owner to press charges.