A 4-year-old Lake Orion girl has lost her foot in a lawn mowing accident in Minnesota, according to the girl's family and a release from the Morrison County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota.
Her family is hoping her leg will be spared after a major reconstructive surgery this week. They are asking for prayers for Brielle Thompson as well as financial supportfor the long road ahead in her recovery.
"Our family is asking for help for our very special little girl," wrote Abigail Thompson, who organized a GoFundMe on behalf of Brielle's parents, Evan and Naomi Thompson. "Her family has suddenly been faced with something no parent ever imagines having to walk through: watching their little girl endure a devastating injury, multiple surgeries, ongoing
recovery, rehabilitation, and the difficult road ahead of a life that will never be the same."
Abigail Thompson said the lawn mowing accident happened on Aug. 21, and Brielle was flown to the hospital, where surgeons had to amputate her foot. She has already undergone several more operations, including the latest reconstructive surgery, which lasted 9 1/2 hours.
The sheriff's release Aug. 24 said the office received a report about 1:25 p.m. on Aug. 21 that a 4-year-old girl had been run over by a lawn mower at a private residence in Swanville Township. The township is three miles northwest of Upsala, which is around the middle of the state.
The release said a 33-year-old Swanville man was operating a zero-turn lawn mower with a 4-year-old child from Lake Orion riding on the front platform of the mower. The child fell from the platform, it said, and was partially run over by the mower while the blades were engaged.
It said the girl had extensive injuries and was treated at the scene by family members and emergency medical personnel and that she was taken by Life Link III to Children's Minnesota-Minneapolis Hospital in Minneapolis for further treatment.
According to its website, Life Link III provides air medical transportation for patients in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and throughout the United States by helicopter and airplane ambulance.
The sheriff's office said the circumstances regarding the incident remain under investigation. The release did not detail the relationship, if any, between the girl and the man operating the mower.
In an Aug. 27 update on the GoFundMe, Evan Thompson wrote that the first 24 hours to three days would tell whether the most recent surgery would be successful in sparing his child's leg.
"She is undergoing constant monitoring, and we are very anxious to see that no failures or complications present themselves during this crucial post-surgery timeframe," he said. "Please pray that the surgery that has been done will hold successfully, that her pain levels will be low, and that her recovery will be full."
According to theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics, about 9,400 children in the U.S. receive emergency care each year for lawn mower-related injuries. About a quarter of those injuries are sustained by children under the age of 5.
In a Facebook post, Naomi Thompson asked for prayers for her daughter and expressed gratitude for the support the family has already received.
"As crazy as it all was and is," Thompson wrote, "I have been overwhelmingly thankful that there has always been a foundation of peace, because we know that God says, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. I love each one of you, and I will carry you through every step of the way. It will be hard, but I have a greater purpose for you than what you can see right now.”
Amber Thompson described Brielle as a little girl who is energetic, caring, and full of imagination, whose world is made up of "adventures, play, and the people she loves most."
Brielle is receiving medical care out of state, she added, and the 4-year-old and her family will probably be unable to return home for some time.
"Every gift, no matter the size, can help relieve some of the financial burden and allow Brielle’s parents to focus their energy where it belongs: on their daughter and their family," Thompson wrote in her GoFundMe request. "Thank you for loving Brielle from wherever you are. Thank you for giving, sharing, praying, helping carry them through this unimaginably difficult season, and for giving them one less thing to have to worry about right now."
Detroit Free Press staff writer Christina Hall contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lake Orion girl, 4, loses foot in lawn mower accident
