A southern Alberta woman injured when her vehicle went off the road during extreme winds and an out-of-control wildfire is recovering from severe burns in a Calgary hospital.
The fire, which prompted the evacuation of the community of Carmangay, burned wildly for several hours on the afternoon of March 28.
Achik Duot was driving on a highway in the area when she went off the road, according to RCMP. Duot was able to get out of the vehicle, but was badly injured in the ordeal.
She was picked up from the side of the road by a passerby and taken to a local hospital, before being airlifted to Calgary, where she’s now in an induced coma and being treated for severe burns over much of her body, according to a friend.
Duot is a wife, mother of four and was studying at Lethbridge College, expecting to finish with a diploma in practical nursing in June.
“She’s a very determined, committed, compassionate woman and also very quiet and reserved at the same time,” Duot’s friend Susan Riehl told Global News.
“It’s a tragedy to be in that situation for any family. We can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through — it’s life changing. We just really felt the need to help.”
Riehl said Duot has third-degree burns over 20 per cent of her body, including her legs, hands and face. She opened her eyes at one point, but had a breathing tube in so she couldn’t speak.
She’s also had some skin-graft surgeries, but doctors expect several more will need to be done.
Duot’s husband, who had been working in Fort McMurray, immediately flew to Calgary to be with her after the crash, and it’s expected he will stay and support her throughout her surgery, meaning he won’t be able to work.
Duot also had been working part-time while attending school, which she won’t be able to get back to for a long time.
The couple’s children are currently in Africa with their grandmother. They were supposed to come back for a reunion in June, however it’s now not known when they’ll return to Alberta.
Riehl set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise money to help offset the costs the family incurs through Duot’s healing process.
Riehl said starting the GoFundMe came down to doing whatever she and Duot’s other friends could do to help their beloved friend and her family through this life-changing time.
“Once we found out (it was her), we just felt the need to help,” she said.
“It’s so life-changing for her. She was she was working, she was going to school, she’s a mother of four and just had a lot on her plate.
“We’re just trying to make things a little bit more manageable for them.”
Comments