MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A woman in Arab is searching for answers about how her mentally disabled brother sustained devastating injuries that have him fighting for his life.
Hope Terwilliger says her brother, Douglas Dixon, 31, was missing for two days before the family was told where he was. The family has no clue as to how he sustained the injuries.
Terwilliger says that Dixon suffers from anxiety, and he calls her and dials 911 when he doesn’t get an immediate answer for his condition. He does things like break windows or acts out to get the assistance that he needs.
That’s exactly what Dixon did when he went to the Four-C Volunteer Fire Department in Arab. A neighbor called someone associated with the fire department after she heard someone breaking a window.
That’s where answers as to what happened to Dixon get cloudy.
An ambulance was called to the scene at the fire department and Dixon was taken to Marshall Medical Center North. His injuries were so extensive that he was then transferred to Huntsville Hospital. The hospital’s injury report from Huntsville Hospital shows blunt force trauma as well as multiple other injuries.
His sister says that Dixon is fighting to stay alive, and his family is looking for answers as to exactly what happened.
“Anybody that knows Doug, knows that me, Doug, and Tyler are stuck together like glue, and this breaks our heart. He sought help in a place that had [previously] helped him, it’s a fire and rescue place. They come when the ambulance people come. Why would he not seek help there,” Terwilliger told News 19.
Terwilliger added that he broke the window to sound off the security system because there was no one at the station at that time. According to the family, someone reached out after seeing a Facebook post about his disappearance several days later.
“He’s fighting for his life and it’s not looking so good, and we don’t even know what happened,” Terwilliger said. “Anybody that has seen anything on Saturday, June 25 around 5 p.m. in the afternoon, please come forward and let us know.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with medical necessities and potential surgeries.
