Schultz family has a rough road ahead: Please keep them in your prayers
Updated: May 25, 2023
by Trinity Gruenberg
Mother Liberty Schultz and 22-month-old daughter Alaina were both originally in the Hennepin County Medical Center Burn Unit recovering from injuries sustained from a recent house fire.
The fire began in their shared second-floor bedroom on April 7 at approximately 9:42 p.m.
Liberty explained they heard the smoke detectors and rushed upstairs. The fire was located between the bedroom door and where Alaina was sleeping, trapping her in the room.
“I left her room that night with her sleeping, my three kittens on the bed nursing on their mom and I made sure nothing was plugged in and everything was turned off. I did a double-take of the room before I left her room,” explained Liberty.
Verndale and Wadena firefighters were able to rescue Alaina by gaining entry to the room through a window.
“I’m really thankful to the people that made it there to the fire and saved her,” said Liberty
The cause of the fire is undetermined and remains under investigation. The mother cat was saved, but the kittens perished.
Liberty was sedated and on a breathing tube for a couple of days. She sustained burns to her fingers, hands, arms, and face and suffered smoke inhalation from trying to get to her daughter. She is currently undergoing physical therapy for walking. She has lost the feeling in her fingertips and it may take up to a year before she regains feeling.
Liberty is doing well. She was discharged on April 16. She is able to eat really soft foods, such as mashed potatoes and apple sauce. She has also been drinking a lot of fluids. It may take two more months for her voice to return to normal.
Alaina is in the ICU. She has undergone multiple surgeries so far. She sustained burns to 80 percent of her little body, with some burns down to the bone on her left arm.
Doctors have taken samples of her skin to grow new skin to replace the burnt skin. Her lungs and kidneys are in critical condition and she is on a ventilator. Alaina is currently stable and under 24-hour care.
As of this writing, her stomach was open and they were trying to get the swelling down in her stomach/chest area and trying to get her lungs and kidneys in the clear. Alaina had two more successful surgeries to drain the fluid from her left lung in order to save it and to close up her stomach.
On April 13, Liberty was able to see her daughter for the first time since the fire. Liberty and her mother, Karen, were able to move into a Firefighters for Healing apartment near the hospital to be with her family.
Due to the extent of Alaina’s injuries, doctors expect she will remain in the burn unit for the next year.
“We have really amazing surgeons and doctors that are taking care of Alaina and me. She’s getting the best of the best workers here with her,” said Liberty.
The situation has been very hard on the family. Alaina loves the colors pink, purple, blue, and yellow. She loves anything Minnie Mouse, unicorns, and rainbows. Her bedroom was pink Minnie Mouse-themed before it was lost to the fire.
Alaina remains in God’s hands. Please keep the family in your prayers.