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Christina Simoes, 24, jumped from a third-floor window after a massive fire spread through her apartment building in Haverhill, Mass., in May of 2014. Simoes told reporters that she was unable to get out of her apartment because of smoke and falling debris.
Reports indicate that the fire was started after someone improperly disposed of a lit cigarette. Simoes and 18 other families lost their homes and belongings in the fire. "I just knew we were either going to die or we were going to get out of there. Once I got to the window and looked down, and I knew what I had to do," she told ABC.
Simoes grabbed her son and jumped from the window, trying to cushion him as they fell. Once she hit the ground, she told her son to run as she crawled away from falling debris.
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Simoes suffered severe injuries, including a broken vertebrae, which required a six-hour surgery to repair. Doctors said it was unclear whether she would ever walk again. Her son suffered minor injuries."All the pain, all of this that I'm going to go through is worth it to see him run around and play. We lost everything, but that doesn't matter to me because I have all that matters," she said
A Gofundme account was set up to help with medical expenses and has raised over $40,000
