Help Madeleine Recover from Pit Bull Attack

Hello, my name is Tracy. My 8-year-old daughter, Madeleine, was recently attacked by a neighbor’s Pit Bull who had escaped its fencing. She was merely playing in her Mother’s backyard when the dog suddenly appeared and attacked without warning. The dog focused its attack on Madeleine’s face, head, and torso. While suffering many lacerations to these areas, the most extensive damage was done to her face and head, specifically her left eye. The eyeball itself was bitten into, leaving her without a lens and most of her beautiful blue iris. Another large laceration on her left cheek caused nerve damage to the upper left side of her face, including those which control her eyebrow, forehead and eyelid. She cannot move these areas much at all now, and may need an implant in her eyelid to help her close her damaged eye. She no longer has any useful vision in the eye, with no lens implant possible, as all supporting structures are also gone. Following the initial healing, she will still require ongoing therapy, as her left eye has started to drift, a high magnification contact lens (if one can be made for her) and will endure life-long struggles with light sensitivity and inability to move portions of her face.

 

Immediately following the attack, I retained an attorney who specializes in dog bite cases. However, the dog owner has not responded to the attorney’s requests for information and has since moved away without a forwarding address. Essentially, she has fled. Additionally, due to Indiana State Law, my attorney has informed me that it is likely the dog owner is uninsured, as she was renting the residence where the dog was located. With this, I was also informed that the case does not look good and he will likely be dropping the lawsuit as it is not viable. Therefore, the financial responsibility for all associated medical bills is now mine.

 

Additionally, in needing to stay home to care for her, I have since lost my Engineering Management position and also now unemployed as well.

 

While I have never been one to reach out for assistance, but having been encouraged to create this and having no real family of my own, I figured it could only help Madeleine.  Anything will help and if you have read this far, we truly and deeply thank you.

 

With regard to Madeleine, I made sure to include a few pictures showing her beautiful smile that, while enduring more pain and trauma than I can even bring myself to think that she had to, she has maintained throughout. While the first few days were very, very tough, it wasn’t long before she was talking about the future and being able to do the things we have always done together again. At this point, I’m not sure if her inner strength and positivity has done more for her or for those around her. Even the hospital staff, especially her ophthalmologist, expressed their amazement that Madeleine has requested and was reading her favorite Unicorn Diaries books in the days following the accident. I truly believe there will be nothing that can stop this little girl from achieving whatever she sets her mind to.

 

Thank you for reading our story.

 

Sincerely,

Madeleine and Tracy