Elana Marcrum receives CCVFD scholarship
July 13, 2022 at 7:18 p.m.
The College Corner Volunteer Fire Department (CCVFD) held a special dinner meeting last week to announce the first recipient of a scholarship which honors one of their own.
Paster Britt Hensley cared about his community and was a member of the CCVFD at the time of his passing in January 2021. He visited Elana and helped her deal with everything while she was hospitalized and after returning home.
“We wanted to do this to honor Britt and to show our pride in all Elana has been through,” CCVFD Chief Donnie Jackson said following the dinner meal held in their honor.
Rob Marcum and his 20-year-old daughter Elana Marcum were special guests as well as others who responded on February 19, 2020 to an explosion at her father’s home that engulfed Elana in flames.
Elana was 17 at the time and still in high school. Needless to say, her father reacted quickly as did the CCVFD.
“Dad kept telling me to get down and roll,” Elana said. But it was her father who wrapped her in a blanket and rolled her on the ground until the fire department arrived.
“We tried to get a helicopter to transport her to the hospital, but they were all tied up,” Jackson said. “So we drove her to Reid ourselves. The Richmond Police Department were at all intersections blocking traffic as we drove 70 mph all the way.”
Reid did what they could and then transported her by helicopter to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
With burns all over her body, Elana was in the hospital 130 days and had more than 100 surgeries. Rob stayed at the hospital with her the entire time until COVID prevented him from visiting her.
During that time, Rob also had several surgeries to repair the burn damage to his arms.
At the time of the accident, Elana weighed 135 pounds but dropped to 95 pounds during her recovery. Her head was shaved to make way for skin graphs. To see her today you would know the skin surgeries were successful by the full head of hair that has grown down beyond her shoulders.
After more than four months in hospitals, Elana was released ahead of schedule and returned home July 1, 2020. She went to work at McDonald’s in Oxford and continues to serve the community daily.
Elana graduated from Connersville High School this past Spring (2022) and wants to go to college but is taking a year off. She has always wanted to be a veterinarian but that is not feasible at this point.
“She has found many options but needs time to investigate them before deciding what she wants to do,” her father said.
I had never met a walking, talking miracle before until the College Corner Volunteer Fire Department’s special dinner meeting on July 6, 2022 where I met Elana and her father.
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The College Corner Volunteer Fire Department (CCVFD) held a special dinner meeting last week to announce the first recipient of a scholarship which honors one of their own.
Paster Britt Hensley cared about his community and was a member of the CCVFD at the time of his passing in January 2021. He visited Elana and helped her deal with everything while she was hospitalized and after returning home.
“We wanted to do this to honor Britt and to show our pride in all Elana has been through,” CCVFD Chief Donnie Jackson said following the dinner meal held in their honor.
Rob Marcum and his 20-year-old daughter Elana Marcum were special guests as well as others who responded on February 19, 2020 to an explosion at her father’s home that engulfed Elana in flames.
Elana was 17 at the time and still in high school. Needless to say, her father reacted quickly as did the CCVFD.
“Dad kept telling me to get down and roll,” Elana said. But it was her father who wrapped her in a blanket and rolled her on the ground until the fire department arrived.
“We tried to get a helicopter to transport her to the hospital, but they were all tied up,” Jackson said. “So we drove her to Reid ourselves. The Richmond Police Department were at all intersections blocking traffic as we drove 70 mph all the way.”
Reid did what they could and then transported her by helicopter to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
With burns all over her body, Elana was in the hospital 130 days and had more than 100 surgeries. Rob stayed at the hospital with her the entire time until COVID prevented him from visiting her.
During that time, Rob also had several surgeries to repair the burn damage to his arms.
At the time of the accident, Elana weighed 135 pounds but dropped to 95 pounds during her recovery. Her head was shaved to make way for skin graphs. To see her today you would know the skin surgeries were successful by the full head of hair that has grown down beyond her shoulders.
After more than four months in hospitals, Elana was released ahead of schedule and returned home July 1, 2020. She went to work at McDonald’s in Oxford and continues to serve the community daily.
Elana graduated from Connersville High School this past Spring (2022) and wants to go to college but is taking a year off. She has always wanted to be a veterinarian but that is not feasible at this point.
“She has found many options but needs time to investigate them before deciding what she wants to do,” her father said.
I had never met a walking, talking miracle before until the College Corner Volunteer Fire Department’s special dinner meeting on July 6, 2022 where I met Elana and her father.