REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — On June 11, a normal early summer day turned into a nightmare for 11-year-old Avery Russell.
She was one of two people attacked by two pitbull dogs in a Reynoldsburg neighborhood.
Avery was taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital, where she has been recovering for the last 17 days.
“She is a fighter, she is strong,” said her mom, Drew.
The young girl was in a coma for five days and had undergone three surgeries. She lost her left ear, part of her right ear and suffered injuries to her face, nose, neck and shoulders.
“She was barely conscious and I didn’t know what I was walking into, felt like I was in a horror film when I saw her, I was like 'That’s not my baby',” Drew said.
The firefighters from Local 2932 at the Truro Township Fire Department who responded to the scene, have been pulling for Avery in her recovery.
“We see a lot of bad things, a lot of bad runs but nothing is worse than a severely injured child and the injuries Avery sustained that day were really bad and it was clear as soon as we saw her that we needed to get her to the hospital as soon as possible,” said Local 2932 Union President Mick Pfaff.
Pfaff started a fundraiser for Avery and Drew. Within 24 hours, it had raised about $15,000.
“The love that she gives people is just being returned to her tenfold and I am so grateful for it,” Drew said.
Pfaff got to visit Avery at the hospital for the first time since the attack. He said starting the fundraiser and seeing Avery get better has been helpful for him and his colleagues who witnessed the horrific scene.
“A lot of times in the fire service these bad calls can have a negative effect on firemen and paramedics, can create a lot of post-traumatic stress, and I think by turning this terrible situation into a positive one with the GoFundMe campaign we were essentially able to turn something very negative into something positive,” Pfaff said.
Drew is looking forward to taking Avery home from the hospital soon. She has had to relearn things like how to eat and drink, and her walking is wobbly, her mom said, but she is getting stronger every day.
The incoming sixth grader has big dreams of playing basketball and designing apps and video games.
“She is a fighter, she has been telling me since she was two that she is a superhero. I really believe that she might have tapped into that strength because she is still here,” Drew said. “She is getting stronger every day, we are fighting, she is fighting to get out of here, she is ready to go home and enjoy what she can of her summer break we are ready to get adjusted to our new normal.”
The police investigation into the attack is ongoing.
The owners of the pit bulls are facing two misdemeanor charges for failure to register/license a dog and two misdemeanors for failure to confine a dog.
One of the dogs was shot by police at the scene and euthanized by Franklin County Animal Control due to its injuries. The second dog was taken by animal control.