“She’s not ever going to be the same”
This is the mother-of-two currently fighting for her life after she was set on fire.
Alexis Lee Campion was due to celebrate her 44th birthday today. Her family exclusively spoke to the Irish Mirror about her continued battle for life in hospital – two weeks on from a terrifying attack at her home in Oak Downs, Clondalkin, West Dublin.
The young mum answered her front door to a thug who doused her in an accelerant and set her on fire. She was left with near third degree burns to most of her body and in a critical condition in Tallaght Hospital.
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Now her family members, who have asked not to be named, have revealed the horrendous extent of the attack, which has left Alexis’s face totally unrecognisable, most of her body covered in bandages, and her being placed into an induced coma.
One family member, who is among many at Alexis’s hospital bedside, described what has happened to her as “a very dangerous and evil thing,” as they told of the extent of her injuries. “She was such a beautiful looking girl and her whole life now is just in tatters. She’s not ever going to be the same.
“We never thought it would escalate like this. She was trying to get herself together and this happened. She has really been through the mill and now she’s still in a very dangerous situation. She’s still critical and they are telling us every day that she’s prone to infections, she’s going to have multiple skin grafts, she’s 35 per cent burns, nearly third degree burns, and they’ve gone through the skin.
“Her face is bad and she’s just unrecognisable at the moment. She just got it very bad – her face, her neck, her chest, her arm, her feet, the back of her feet. A lot of damage has been done to her,” they explained.
The family member went on to say that Alexis is in an induced coma, and they have no idea if she will ever be able to see, let alone walk again – should she survive.
“I don’t know if she’ll be able to see again, if she can even talk. She’s in a medically induced coma. She’s been waking up and they’ve been putting her back to sleep because they don’t want her in any pain and they want the burns to heal,” they said.
Describing the devoted mother-of-two young men as a “good person,” the family member said Alexis got caught up in something that was not her doing – and she has paid the price for it. Another family member also told the Irish Mirror about Alexis’s condition, telling how doctors even said it was possible she may not survive.
“We’ve been told by the doctors that she might not make it out of it. She might not walk out of the hospital. At the moment skin grafts are trying to save her eyes, nose and her mouth. We’ve been in the hospital with her the whole time. She is waking up but the nurse said they are giving her more medication to sedate her,” they said.
“She’s bandaged from head to toe. If she does pull out of it she’s going to need to be looked after full time.”
Addressing the attackers, who are believed to be linked to a local drugs gang, the family members said they cannot understand how they are still walking the streets.
“I don’t know how they walk the streets after doing something like this. We’re not sure what the outcome is. At the moment she’s still critical so we just have to hope for the best that she will pull through.”
The other family member added: “At first I was told she was dead and then I was told that’s what happened then. I just feel heartbroken even thinking about it. I’m just thinking about the whole attack on her and how vicious it was. I just can’t understand how anyone could hurt such a young girl.”
Two weeks ago the Irish Mirror revealed that the victim’s partner – who the Irish Mirror named as convicted burglar Francis Maguire (49), is believed to have been the primary target of a disgruntled drugs gang operating in the area. The savage gang who attacked his girlfriend also attempted to douse Maguire – who is understood to have ducked most of the accelerant. Maguire desperately tried to save his partner’s life by using his hands to try and put out the fire – injuring himself in the process.
A number of men turned up at Maguire’s home the previous afternoon, and gardai were alerted to claims of them brandishing knives. However no formal complaint was made to gardai at the time. Sources say this horrific attack is a significant escalation after a number of incidents at the house over the past number of years.
The incident has been widely condemned – with a local councillor calling on gardai to investigate the case as attempted murder.
Sinn Fein councillor William Joseph Carey, who lives near where the attack took place said: “I believe it to be an attempted murder and it should be treated as such. I live quite close to where this occurred and the local residents here are just in complete shock. It’s been quite a traumatic experience for many of them.
“One or two residents actually witnessed the aftermath after they heard screaming coming from the household. They’re quite traumatised at the moment.”
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