A former Woodward woman, Ellie Altman, has started a GoFundMe campaign for the family of Woodward toddler whose face was badly mauled by a neighbor’s dog over the weekend.
The 2-year-old boy remains hospitalized due to the severity of his injuries, and Ellie is trying to help the family of 12 by raising funds to help offset travel expenses and wages lost during their time of need.
Altman’s statement on the GoFundMe page is reproduced here:
Hi, my name is Ellie. I am a close friend to Sara and Patrick Swaab of Woodward, Iowa. Between the two of them, they have a blended family of 10 kids. This weekend one of the worst fears as a parent became a reality when their second-youngest son, Kameron, (almost 3) was bitten by a neighbor dog on his face.
Kameron’s family is in the early phases of experiencing so many unanswered questions and next-step concerns — but their primary focus is their family and being there for everyone as well as providing care to Kameron while he has been hospitalized since the day after the accident to present day.
Throughout this terrible event, Kameron remains in the best of spirits with his spunky laugh, his love for dinosaurs and receiving lots of cuddle time from his Mom. Kameron is one tough cookie as he’s been battling high fever temps due to infection from the bite location and being medicated with morphine and other pain relievers to keep the fever at bay at best. Over the last 48 hours he has been seen by many specialist, including a plastic surgeon to remove stitching, clean the wounds and continue watchful observation to prevent further infection.
Sara has not left Kameron’s side, leaving a large obligation on her husband, Patrick, who has been driving almost two hours a day round trip to come up to the hospital to visit. Patrick, the primary employed in the home, has also been staying at home since the accident, caring for the rest of the family and their daily needs — which greatly affects many aspects of their lives.
As Patrick and Sara continue to stand by their son, supporting and caring for the rest of the family, this creates a financial burden and a mental toll for all.
Patrick and Sara would take the shirt off their backs to help out the next person, which is why this is difficult for them to post. If you feel compelled to reach out and bless this family with your prayers, financial generosity or offer to drop by a meal — any little bit helps.
There are so many phases to an accident of this proportion, and they can hardly wrap their heads around everything at the moment. Please help relieve some of their burden and assist where you feel compelled to.
