Infant Mauled By Raccoon In Her Own Bed--Family Raises $26K To Move To Safer Home
Just in time for Christmas, a Philadelphia family's dreams are coming true.
A week after their baby was attacked by a vicious raccoon in their home, a GoFundMe page has raised enough money to help the family move out and find a safer place to live.
That, and they exceeded their original goal of $2,000 goal, ending up with a whopping $26,000!
Journi Black's mother, Ashley Rodgers, swears that she never expected this many people to help her family out this holiday.
“Hi, I just want to thank each and [every one] of you from the bottom of my heart,” Rodgers posted to the GoFund Me page.
“I really appreciate all the help we are getting.”
In case you missed it, a few days after Ashley, Journi and her son moved into a new home, they noticed that the complex was infested with raccoons. While some folks would say, they would have moved out right then, Ashley is clear: On her security guard salary, the $375 a month rent was all she could afford.
Then one night, Ashley says she heard her baby scream. As she rushed to Journi’s bedroom, she spotted a raccoon running down the steps.
The nasty animal mauled her little girl!
“When I finally got to her, she was laying on the floor so it had dragged her off the bed across the room, and she was bleeding and crying and her whole face was red,” Rodgers told CBS Philly.
The poor baby had to endure FOUR HOURS of surgery. Not to mention, the attack left her with 65 stitches across her face and head.
“We are just taking it one day at a time,” Journi’s father, Sam Black, said.
He added: “My focus is getting my daughter back to full strength and making sure her scars and everything is healed so she can live the rest of her life beautiful.”
This slumlord of theirs knew that the apartment had an issue with nasty pests, especially since neighbors complained about it in the past.
After news hit of the attack, the owner of the property was slapped with a zoning violation, ordered to obtain a rental license and told to repair damages to the building.
In the meantime, Journi is still in the hospital, but the family stresses that they are taking it one day at a time.
“As long as it takes,” her father said, “we’ll be here for her.”
Just tragic! We're happy the family is doing well!
