A crowdfunding effort quickly raised tens of thousands of dollars for a hospitalized lieutenant set on fire in suffering severe burns. A civilian subordinate is accused of attacking the officer on Sept. 7 at Munson Army Health Center in Kansas.
The GoFundMe page for 1st Lt. Katie Blanchard, 26, has raised nearly $44,000 since Monday. The page said her injuries included "severe burns to her head, neck, back, arms and hands — mostly third and fourth degree," and that she would be in the hospital or rehab for most of the next year.
An update to the page late Wednesday said she had undergone successful skin graft surgery Monday, and that Tuesday Blanchard spoke for the first time since she was injured. The update also said the family closed the campaign to donations because it had raised more than enough money for its current needs; excess money will be donated to charity.
More than 900 people donated money to help 1st Lt. Katie Blanchard and her family with expenses stemming from her hospitalization.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Jessica Blanchard
Blanchard has three children under the age of five that she raises with her husband, also a soldier in the Army.
Army Times reached out for an update to her condition; her immediate family declined to go into additional detail at this time, according to Blanchard’s sister Jessica Blanchard.
The GoFundMe page posted Monday to raise money for expenses stemming from her hospitalization including child care, food and lodging. (The Army would cover medical costs.) It blew past its goal of $10,000 within a day; by Tuesday afternoon it had tripled that figure with the help of a number of military-themed pages.
An earlier GoFundMe page, also now closed to donations, had been set up on behalf of Jessica to help with flights, accommodations and other emergency costs associated with Jessica and other family members travelling to be with Blanchard. That page, created Sept. 9, said Blanchard had been in an induced coma and on a ventilator. That page raised $11,600.
Clifford Currie, the civilian subordinate, is accused of dousing the officer with an accelerant and lighting her on fire. He is also accused of attacking her with his fists, scissors and a blade. Co-workers responded and managed to eventually separate the two and extinguish the fire, but not before Blanchard was badly injured. According to Katie Blanchard's Facebook comments, the first witness to encounter the attack, nurse practitioner Deanne Michele Kilian, sustained injuries while likely saving Blanchard's life but was "ok."
Currie faces a federal charge of assault with intent to commit murder. He had worked at Munson since 2012; at the time of the attack he served as assistant Exceptional Family Member Program coordinator. EFMP supports military families with special medical and education needs.
According to court documents, Currie had responded poorly to supervision in the past and Blanchard had previously expressed concern about being alone with him. A witness account in the document said that as Currie was subdued after the attack an injured Blanchard screamed "I told you this would happen."
1st Lt. Katie Blanchard's husband, Troy Hokanson, is also an Army officer.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Jessica Blanchard
