Je'raevion King's pregnant mom and sisters were asleep when the fire broke out
Credit: gofundme
NEED TO KNOW
- Je’raevion King, 15, has third-degree burns after saving his family from a house fire in Kansas
- He was transferred to KU Medical Center in Kansas City to receive specialized treatment for his burns and multiple surgeries
- A GoFundMe created by a parent whose son plays football with the teen has raised over $5,000 to support his family
A 15-year-old boy from Kansas is continuing to recover from burns after saving his family from a fire.
Je'raevion King has third-degree burns after he rescued his mother and sisters from the April 16 blaze in their Topeka home, according to CBS affiliate WIBW.
Charae King, Je'raevion's mom, told the outlet that she and her daughters were asleep when he noticed the house filling with smoke. Je'raevion jumped into action and located the origin of the smoke — a burning pot in the kitchen.
When he grabbed the pot in an attempt to put out the fire, he slipped and ended up sustaining several burns to his body, WIBW reported.
“He's got 25 percent burns on the right side of his body, on his bicep, forearm, all the way from his hip down to his toes. So, he's got significant third-degree burns,” said Nicki Richardson, who created a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family.
In the GoFundMe, Richardson said that the 15-year-old teen received immediate care in Topeka before being transferred to the burn unit at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, where he underwent “several surgeries.”
The high school student has more planned surgeries ahead and his journey to recovery “will require an extended stay away from home as he continues to receive specialized treatment," she said.
“As a parent group, we call it the ‘Mom Squad' for baseball because that's the current season they're in. We said, ‘We have to do something for this family,' ” Richardson, whose son plays football with Je'raevion, told WIBW.
“His mom is about 30 weeks pregnant, so she's in that, and then having to allocate her time to being at the hospital with him, that's a huge impact on a family,” she added.
The mom said in the GoFundMe that the Highland Park community is coming together to raise money to “help ease the financial pressure” on Je'raevion's family “between medical expenses, travel, lodging and time away from work” so they can focus on his “healing.”
So far, they have raised over $5,000 as of Thursday, April 30.
The incident has not only impacted Je'raevion's family, but his teammates as well, Richardson told WIBW.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It really resonates with these kids. You don't think that they're paying attention, or that they're seeing what's going on around them, but when they go, ‘Gosh that could have been me.' That's impactful,” Richardson said.
She noted that Je'raevion's teammates are “holding down the fort” as he recovers.
“His outlook on things is always very positive, and his catchphrase is, ‘The comeback is always stronger than the setback,' so we just keep pushing that out and keep pushing that out to his teammates that you're playing for him right now,” she said.
Read the full article here
