CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - "You have to jump," Crystal Dawson said to her 11-year-old stepdaughter, Brianna, as their Lynchburg, Virginia, home went up in flames last week.
Dawson, 30, caught Brianna but then shattered her T5 vertebrae, leaving her hospitalized and temporarily paralyzed, unable to walk.
Doctors may have to perform surgery and believe she’ll walk again. However, Dawson won’t be able to pick up anything heavier than a gallon of milk, which means she won’t be able to pick up any of her children, including her 6-month-old baby."Honestly, completely crushed," Dawson said about her feelings to FOX Television Stations from UVA hospital. "To know that’s all going to have to change, that was very hard."RELATED: Birthday to remember: Responding firefighters end up serenading 93-year-old womanDawson said the incident started early Friday morning when she went to prepare a bottle for her infant. "I couldn’t even make it not even three steps into my living room before I was hit in the face with flames," she continued.Pictures of Dawson's home after the fire. (Sean Dawson)Dawson alerted her family to get out of the house.
She, her husband, and their infant escaped, but Brianna and her 9-year-old brother were trapped upstairs in their bedrooms. "I’m standing at the front door of my house, screaming, ’Guys, get to a window.