Teresa's Recovery

Teresa was mauled by a pit bull on August 15th.

It was an unprovoked attack while she was delivering a package to a residence in rural Southern Virginia.

The dog was loose in the yard of the residence behind an unsecured chain link fence and came through the fence and relentlessly attacked for several minutes as Teresa fought for her life.

The animal owner woke up to the sounds of Teresa’s screams and pleas for help after several minutes and finally restrained the dog. Teresa managed to maintain consciousness throughout the incident, make a tourniquet for herself and limit the excessive blood loss while waiting over 15 minutes in the rain before an ambulance arrived. She was flown via med flight to Johnson City Medical in Tennessee and immediately underwent surgery.

Teresa suffered multiple wounds from the attack. Both arms have several severe lacerations. The animal also attacked her face, and she will continue to undergo surgeries as she recovers from this vicious mauling. Four surgeons treated her wounds in the ER trauma unit almost 2 hours after the incident occurred. She has multiple abrasions and defensive wounds in addition to the many lacerations. She required dozens of stitches in her lips, cheeks, nose, arms and legs. Frankly, at this point in recovery, we are unsure of the extent of the permanent emotional and physical damage that may have incurred, and we will know more as she continues to recover.

Teresa is safe at home now with family recovering from this incredibly traumatic incident.

We are asking for financial donations to alleviate the stresses and burdens of such an incident. Anything helps and will go towards travel expenses, living expenses, legal and medical expenses and any other unforeseen costs associated with the recovery process Teresa will bravely endure.

This is an astoundingly traumatic event for our beautiful little family. Our daughter, Joyce, at only 6 years old, has been unimaginably courageous, helpful and empathetic as her mother deals with the aftermath of this terrible attack. Many family members, including myself, will suffer loss of income in order to provide the necessary in-home care during the recovery.

Teresa is the strongest person I know.

We are beyond grateful for our support system in this area and cannot be thankful enough to those who helped us in the immediate aftermath.

To those people: Thank You.

We are very grateful for any help anyone could provide as we relentlessly navigate forward with our family's future.

Thank you all.