Mothers are heroes in their own children’s eyes, and this mother of four from Michigan proved it after saving her children from a house fire.
Mikala Vish suffered serious second-and third-degree burns to 60 percent of her body after rescuing her four children, ages four, six, twelve, and nine months, from a fire that broke out in the family’s home at 1 a.m. on October 26.
Vish is being treated for her injuries at Michigan Medicine’s burn unit in Ann Arbor, according to Chelsea Area Fire Authority Capt. Scott Basar.
“She is a true hero for saving all of her children,” he remarked.
Firefighters were dispatched to Vish’s home after receiving a report of a structural fire. The Dexter Fire Department was the first on the scene and spotted Vish pulling a child from the flaming house before going back inside to save the others.
Only she and her six-year-old son, Torin, were hurt in the incident and are hospitalized. The child received severe burns on his hands and arms. Both the mother and the kid will have skin graft operations.
Vish escaped with no neurological or ocular damage, but she could be in the hospital for eight months. Her family also perished in the fire, which is still under investigation.
Susan Sutton, Vish’s mother, stated that she expected nothing less from her daughter.
“She has always been a spitfire, she is extremely determined. It didn’t surprise me at all. As I understand, it was an inferno and she just braced herself for it until she found [her 6-year-old son],” she said.
“She is a woman of great faith and prayer and I think that along with her very spitfire personality is what’s getting her through and it gives me the courage to know this is going to work,” she added.
Lt. Derek Klink, a firefighter who responded to the house fire, said the single mom’s actions were “the most heroic thing” he’s ever seen.
“Sometimes, people call us heroes. And in this instance, in no way were we the hero. Mikala deserves all the credit,” he said.
The lieutenant’s wife, Brynna Klink, set up a GoFundMe campaign for the family. She stated that this specific fire affected her husband more because the children were all around their own children’s ages.
“Please support Mikala and her four lovely children while she heals from injuries sustained in the fire,” Klink said on the campaign website.
“These gifts will be utilized to help support Mikala’s family’s long-term care for the children.” Mikala will be in the hospital for a long time, but the donations will also help her start again whenever she is released.”
As of November 19, the page has received over $270,000 in donations, far above its $275,000 objective.
Klink stated in a November 13 post on the fundraising that “Mikala and Torin have been demonstrating fantastic growth.” Their grafts appear to be successful.
Torin has been transferred to a peds rehab facility and is receiving numerous hours of physical and occupational therapy each day.
Meanwhile, Vish has been extubated and can now communicate better. She has a long road ahead but is showing significant improvement and is even walking a bit.
