Idaho girl, 9, clings to life after losing 'half of her skull' in freak accident
A 9-year-old Idaho girl is clinging to life after a freak accident that required the removal of "half of her skull."
Shaylyn Bergeson was playing in her backyard in Rexburg, Idaho, when she fell out of a tree and landed on a piece of rebar that impaled the left side of her head. She was airlifted to a children's hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery, according to the East Idaho News.
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"She had a craniotomy and they removed half of her skull to relieve the pressure,” Jesi Bergeson, Shaylyn’s mother, told the East Idaho News. “They found there is a lot of bleeding on the right side of her brain, too. They gave a 50 percent chance that she wouldn’t survive the surgery and she pulled through, but now we’re just watching and waiting to see what happens.”
Jesi described her daughter as the "kindest, energetic and most beautiful little girl." She is set to start fourth grade in the fall, but remains in critical condition. Her prognosis is still unknown.
Sadly, Jesi and her husband, Kurt, are no strangers to tragedy. Shaylyn's older sister, Briauna, died in 2016 after struggling with a rare chromosome abnormality.
"We are not doing good right now," Jesi Bergeson said. "We lost her older sister just four years ago and the thought of losing another baby is tearing us up."
The local community has rallied around the Bergesons. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover Shaylyn's medical expenses.
“We know they are doing everything they possibly can to give her a fighting chance,” Jesi said. “She is so tough and is fighting so hard right now. Thank you to everyone from the bottom of our hearts. We love you all.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Idaho girl clings to life after losing 'half of her skull' in accident
