Baby left with fractured skull after hit by softball at dad's game
A seven-week-old baby remains in hospital days after she was hit in the head by a softball at a recreational game with her family.
McKenna Hovenga suffered a fractured skull which caused two serious brain bleeds and frequent seizures. She was airlifted from the game in Shell Rock, Iowa, in the US and was taken to a clinic in Minnesota on Wednesday (local time).
A fundraising page was set up to help support McKenna and her parents Kassy and Lee through the tumultuous time with more than AUD$26,000 raised.
There are several updates on the page about McKenna’s condition and how she was hit in the head.
The family say they were sitting behind the safety fence at a game when Mrs Hovenga was getting ready to breastfeed.
They say they never saw the ball coming and were unaware McKenna was hit until she began screaming moments later and a lump formed on her head.
Accidents happen and this is just one horrible happenstance,” an update on the page says.
“We blame NO ONE. We appreciate the majority for their outpouring of prayers and positivity. The old adage of ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all’ especially applies here.”
Scans indicate that the ball hit the front of McKenna’s skull.
She is required to use a feeding and breathing tube, and doctors have treated her with a variety of different medications to control the seizures.
“At this point the goal is to stop the seizures. They are not sure of the ‘why’ and won’t be able to determine that until they can get them under control,” a Facebook post says.
“It is very hard to wait and watch and not know the future and that’s exactly what we’re doing right now,” another post says.
The baby is on anti-seizure medication but remains in hospital under the watchful eye of her doctors.
