Family who lost mother, home in fire seeks help

One person was killed in January when a fire destroyed this home near Wappapello.

A Wappapello family that lost everything in a fire, including assistive equipment for a wheelchair-bound teenager, is asking for the community’s help to rebuild.

Hannah Dellinger has posted a plea to GoFundMe to help her uncle and his son, Jayden, recover from a fire Jan. 17 that claimed the life of Jayden’s mother.

Chris Dellinger has been in St. Louis, beside Jayden’s hospital bed, since the tragedy occurred, said niece Hannah Dellinger. Funeral plans for Melissa Dellinger are on hold at this time.

Chris and Melissa Dellinger are pictured with son, Jayden, 15.

“Yesterday, his son’s heart actually stopped twice and they had to do CPR on him,” Hannah Dellinger said in a phone interview Monday, while traveling home to the Puxico area from her job in Nevada. “They’re really worried about everything right now.”

Emergency officials were called around 4 a.m. Jan. 17 to the house fire on County Road 523. Chris was able to get Jayden out of the home through a window, but Melissa did not escape. No foul play is suspected, but the cause of the fire has not been released.

Jayden has suffered issues because of smoke and damage that was done to his feeding tube as the family evacuated the home, Hannah explained. His health has continued to be fragile as doctors attempted to make necessary repairs to the feeding tube, she said.

Melissa and Chris had lived in their County Road 523 home for more than 20 years, and had made a number of changes to care for their 15-year-old son, including a wheelchair ramp.

In addition to losing their home, the equipment used to care for Jayden was also destroyed, Hannah said.

Chris has been Jayden’s full-time caregiver since the boy became too big for Melissa to care for. Jayden had gotten as tall as his mother at that point.

Melissa, 42, had worked at the Wappapello Dollar General after Chris took over as full-time caregiver for their son.

Jayden has Cerebral palsy. He is unable to speak and does not have function in his arms or legs, Hannah said.

Multiple family members have offered Chris and Jayden a place to stay when they can come home, but the family will need to replace everything from their clothing to Jayden’s assistive equipment, Hannah said.

“He’s a good man,” Hannah said of her uncle.

For more information on how to help the family, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-chris-and-jayden . The fundraiser has generated about $700 to date.