DAVENPORT, Iowa — The father of the woman who lost her life in a Davenport apartment fire in late December is seeking community support.
Marissa Lard died on Dec. 23 — one day before Christmas Eve. The apartment fire started at approximately 2:23 PM on the 1600 block of W. 42 St. in Davenport.
Her four-year-old son, Markyus, was also in the apartment complex during the fire. He is currently in critical condition.
"My daughter and my grandson with trapped in an apartment; a fire that did not start in their unit," Troy Lard, Marissa's father, said. "My daughter died. My grandson has a critical condition. 25% burns to his body, second and third-degree burns. And he's fighting. He's fighting. He's still critical, but he's making steady steps every day."
Troy lives in Texas. He found out about the tragedy on Christmas Eve but was unable to make his way to the Quad Cities right away.
"With the national weather disaster that was going on, it was impossible to get any type of flight out," Troy said. "Definitely not an option to drive. So I had to wait until that Monday to book a flight and get up here."
Troy is staying in the Quad Cities as he works with a legal team in order to obtain guardianship over Markyus. He is also working on Marissa's funeral arrangements.
"Markyus got accepted to the Shriners Hospital, which is the number one pediatric burn medicine hospital, in Galveston, Texas; it's number one in the world," said Troy.
But, Markyus's Medicaid refused to cover the cost of Markyus's flight to the hospital; a price tag of $23,000. That cost does not include the numerous amount of surgeries the four-year-old will need to recover from his burns.
"It's tough. You know, I haven't had a chance really to mourn and take in everything that's going on, because I got to take care of my kids first. So once I get them taken care of, then I have some time to reflect and deal with it."
The Lard family is in need of community support. To donate to Markyus's medical bills, click/tap here. To donate to Marissa's funeral arrangements click/tap here.
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