Help Kris recover from serious burns
Kris Dale, police constable, father of four, has suffered serious burns in a gas bottle explosion and needs support.
Southland
Father of four young children, Constable Kris Dale recently suffered an horrific accident at home in Te Anau when a gas bottle exploded, causing severe burns to 18 percent of his body. Most seriously affected is his face and neck, upper torso and hands, with 'full thickness' or 3rd degree burns to his hands.
Kris was airlifted from Te Anau and is presently in the Christchurch Hospital burns unit with his wife, Jamie, staying nearby in AirBNB accommodation, along with their children, Isla 8, Mackenzie 5, Angus 2 and Keira, 10 months.
The accident happened on Friday 9 April 2021.
Originally from the Bay of Plenty, Kris served as a firefighter with the Ohope Volunteer Fire Brigade for many years. He is a dedicated and involved police constable and an upstanding member of the communities of which he is a part. Kris has a long history of giving his personal time raising funds and helping others. This includes multiple participations in the Auckland Sky Tower Stair Challenge.
While it wasn't easy getting Kris's OK to run a GiveALittle as he is more comfortable giving assistance than receiving it, this his and Jamie's hour of need. Serious burns are notoriously painful, with lengthy recovery times. Kris has suffered critical injuries, particularly to his hands, and his family faces a difficult time ahead as they help nurse him towards recovery.
If Kris gets through initial treatment without any infections, with skin grafts 'taking' first time, he will be hospitalised for at least a month. Rehabilitation will be difficult, and is likely to take place in Dunedin or Invercargill, both more than 3 hours drive from the family home in Te Anau, over at least 6 months.
The travel, logistics and other expenses faced by the family throughout this process are substantial - already Jamie has had to unexpectedly book flights, a people mover and accommodation to keep the family close to Kris.
Please join me in contributing and together, let's eliminate financial hardship from the healing process.
Donovan Jackson's involvement (page creator)
Close friend.
Use of funds
We are unsure how much ACC will contribute to accommodation and travel costs, but in these circumstances the Dale family is facing a considerable financial burden.
Latest update
Update from Jamie 8 May 2021
Hi everyone
The kids and I are so thrilled to be back in Te Anau with Kris for the next stage of his recovery journey.
With school back for Term 2, Kris and I are are finding our "new normal" routine. He has regular physio appointments, daily exercises, oral pain relief, a swag of multi vitamins and his skin care routine is now more thorough than my own!
We can now also share the news of an exiting project underway at our home that began while we were in Christchurch. Otene Construction has been leading a group of local tradies and volunteers to finish our renovations that Kris is now unable to complete. Kris had no idea this was being done for him until 2 days prior to his discharge and was understandably overwhelmed with emotion when we returned home to see what progress Kingi and his team had made in just a couple of weeks.
While plastering and painting is completed and flooring and kitchen installed, we are fortunate to be able to stay in a neighbouring house whose owner is in Australia. We're looking forward to moving back home in a couple of weeks and will share some before and after photos with you all.
Kris is now doing little outings like walking the kids to school, so he gets fresh air, and chats to other parents to fill his social cup. Then it's home to rest before the pick up walk in the afternoon - ensuring he's fully covered from the sun and lathered in SPF50!!
It's inspiring to see this next stage of Kris' recovery going well for him and we continue to feel so lucky to have an amazing network of people near and far supporting us on this journey.
We would also like to say a special thank you to Kris' parents Lesley and Alan for being with us up until a few days ago. Even a broken ankle couldn't hold Lesley back from cooking meals and playing with her grand-children. We are lucky to have you both. Now enjoy the peace and quiet now you're back at home. Jamie x
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