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WEST JORDAN -- A Herriman woman and her 3-year-old son have faced a tough couple of weeks after a fire in their apartment injured both of them. A fundraiser held Saturday morning will help pay their medical bills.
Allix Thrall and her son, Luke, have been in the hospital ever since the fire. Until two days ago, Allix was in a medically induced coma. With lots of medical bills in their future, her family and friends decided to help and were surprised when many others wanted to assist, as well.
People donated items including a dryer, furniture, toys and books. They were laid out at the Macey's store in West Jordan Saturday for others to look through and buy.
Allix's father, Dannie Phillips, says, "We've got everything from weight benches to clothes."
Companies also donated gift cards for a raffle. All the money raised will go to Allix and Luke.
It's going to be rough going for a little while, but it's coming. We'll take it day-by-day.
–Dannie Phillips
Two weeks ago, Allix was sleeping on her couch when fire investigators say Luke started playing with matches. He ignited the couch. Allix awoke and got them out of the apartment, but they were seriously injured.
Allix's aunt, Janet Kohler, says for a while they didn't know if she would survive. Now the family is just happy they're both alive.
"She was on a breathing tube for 13 days," Phillips says. "She's finally up and coherent. They're healing so fast, and her son, our grandson, is just phenomenal."
Melissa Chidester has been one of Allix's best friends since they were 10 years old. When she heard about the fire, she wanted to help.
"With her surgeries that (Allix) and her son will have to go through for the next year, we want to keep her at home and make sure she'll be able to get by with food and so forth," Chidester says.
"She's coming around, but it's hard every day," Kohler says. The family knows the two still have a long way to go in their recovery.
"We're looking at about a year of long-term care for them at that point on," Phillips says. "So, this fundraiser really means a lot to us."
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
