Hankins Fundraiser

On 8/21, 16-year-old Austin was in a severe car accident where he broke every bone in his legs, his right foot, as well as degloving his foot. Even with all of these injuries, Austin army crawled from the scene to a nearby house to get help for his friends that were still with the car. This is something instilled in him being a volunteer firefighter and part of the fire academy through his school in Stafford County. Austin has such an incredible heart and showed it even as he was losing blood. Son to a single mom and big brother to two young boys, Austin knew he couldn’t give up. He was then medevacked to Inova Fairfax, needing several blood transfusions on the flight, and rushed into the first of many surgeries. This one lasting 18 hours to return the blood flow to both of his legs and fixate his many broken bones. Over the next few days, Austin underwent several more surgeries, and going through over 130 units of blood products. Ultimately, the decision had to be made to amputate Austin’s left leg to save his life. Austin woke up from intubation to learn he was now an amputee. Through all of this, Austin’s spirit has been nothing short of incredible. He understood the decision was not made lightly and he was okay with it because he knew he could still be a firefighter. It is just going to look a little different. Then last week Austin got more news, the damage to Austin’s right foot was too severed and half of his foot had become necrotic. So they amputated half of his foot. A few days later they then had to amputate all the way to the heel, and remove a large portion of his calf muscle as it was all dead tissue. Austin and his family was then faced with the difficult decision to amputate his right leg as well to save more dead tissue, and further complications. Austin’s view on the second amputation is that it brings him one step closer to recovery and getting back to serving others through his passion in the fire department. He might still have broken bones, but this kid’s heart is rock solid and we can’t wait to see what his future brings him.

#FundraisersForFamiliesInCrisis

Please help us shine a little light on this family and donate what you can to help them through this dark time.  Any contribution will help the family, whether it is $25 or $2,500. The Hankins family appreciates all the love and support you are able to provide.

Together, we can let it shine and show them how much the community cares.

Thank you to everyone who can support this family!

Your generosity allows us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of locals in our community. Thank you!

Ellie’s Elves is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.